3 Takeaways From Blue Jays Series Win Over Marlins

Jordan Romano stared down the hardest out in baseball with two gone in the ninth.

The Blue Jays closer was looking for his 22nd and a series win, but Luis Arráez stood in his way. The Marlins infielder is hitting .398 on the season and tormented Toronto's pitchers all series long. But, with a breaking slider, Romano foiled the batting champ, inducing a simple grounder to snag the Wednesday win and series victory.

Here are three takeaways from Toronto's 2-1 series win over the Marlins in Miami:

Bats Awaken In Finale

Toronto's bats went to sleep on the nine-game road trip. The Jays averaged 3.33 tallies per contest and were held to two or fewer runs five times.

In the first two games in Miami, Toronto combined for just two runs. So, naturally, the bats burst open against the reigning Cy Young champion, Sandy Alcantara, on Wednesday.

Over 70% of Toronto's offense in the entire series came in the finale's second inning. Matt Chapman, who would add a homer later, started the rally off with a hustle double to left. Then, the train started chugging. The next three Jays reached base — Cavan Biggio, Santiago Espinal, and Kevin Kiermaier, spraying hits around the outfield and cashing Toronto's runs. The Jays settled for a five spot in the second, the type of big inning they've lacked for a few weeks.

One hitter who remained cold in South Beach was Vladimir Guerrero. The slugger was Toronto's only starter not to reach base in the series finale and went 1-for-12 in the series.

Kikuchi Carves

Toronto's offensive cold spell has put all the pressure on the pitching staff. When you're not scoring runs, you don't have room for error — the Jays are 5-31 this season when allowing four or more runs.

Thursday's mid-game embodied Toronto's current lineup schneid — GIDPs, RISP woes, and the bats were held to just two runs. The only avenue for a win was to somehow out-pitch a dealing Eury Perez. Yusei Kikuchi was up to the task.

Leaning heavily on his fastball, Kikuchi shut the Marlins down for six strong innings. With the heater alone, he ratcheted up to 97 MPH, inducing four whiffs and nine called strikes.

With one out in the fifth, the lefty reared back for the heater and sent a bullet toward the top corner of the zone. Miami's Garrett Cooper lashed out at the pitch but caught nothing but air as the ball zipped by. Kikuchi spun on the mound in celebration of his sixth strikeout, his final punch-out of the night.

Yusei Kikuchi, 96mph ⛽️

With his patented Kick-uchi follow thru. pic.twitter.com/q0nwctfy21
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 20, 2023

Though Kikuchi left Tuesday's contest with a no-decision, his six shutout frames allowed Toronto's chilly bats to stay in the contest, tacking on two late runs to take the win.

“He threw the [expletive] out of the ball, really. I mean, he threw the [expletive] out of it,” John Schneider told reporters, including Paige Leckie.

Injury Ups & Downs

The Jays had a few injury-based transactions during the Miami series:

- 1B/DH Brandon Belt (hamstring) returned from the Injured List on Wednesday, tallying a single in his first at-bat. Spencer Horwitz was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Belt on the roster.

- SS Bo Bichette was a late scratch from Wednesday's lineup with "left thumb discomfort." The Jays consider the injury minor, per Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling, and "hope a couple days rest will be all it needs."

- C Alejandro Kirk was placed on the 10-day IL with a "hand laceration" prior to the series. Tyler Heineman was recalled in his place.

- RHP Zach Pop (hamstring) was moved to Triple-A Buffalo on a rehab assignment. The reliever hasn't pitched in the big leagues since early May.