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SIMMONS: Is this the way it ends for Robbie Ray and the Blue Jays?

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Robbie Ray handed the baseball to Charlie Montoyo and walked slowly from the mound at Rogers Centre, not trying up, possibly for the final time as a Toronto Blue Jay.

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It wasn’t the story he needed to put in writing on this particular night time, with a lot on the road, wasn’t the way in which he needed to finish his miraculous season with the Jays.

When he pitches subsequent, possibly will probably be in Toronto, possibly will probably be someplace else with free company looming, possibly will probably be an unlikely wild-card sport. However this season, now with the Cy Younger Award a comparatively wide-open race, is a lot like this slightly fantastic Blue Jays season. It was virtually there. It was virtually unbelievable. It was, wild card or no wild card, particular and memorable.

And now there are three video games left to play for the Jays and a lot uncertainty for the ultimate weekend of this American League season.

And the query for Ray, which he received’t reply essentially but, is what’s in his future, and admittedly, the place do the Jays go together with him and with out him.

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There’s some bittersweet to this remaining weekend in Toronto. Ray was the Blue Jays’ best-starting pitcher from starting to finish — all season lengthy. Marcus Semien, enjoying out of place at second base, has had an excellent season. and he too will doubtless take his remaining swings as a Jay on Sunday afternoon. He’s a free agent as effectively — and but the Blue Jays nonetheless can’t appear to combat their approach to a wild-card spot with a Cy Younger-like season from Ray and an MVP type of yr from Semien.

They usually might lose one or each earlier than subsequent season begins — and the way do you substitute both?

Ray has been a large on the mound for nearly your complete season. This morning, the boxscore will lie just a bit bit. It can have Ray pitching simply over 5 innings, giving up 5 earned runs, and that’s correct and never essentially reflective. After Aaron Decide hit a house run within the first inning — the type of shot that the marvelous Decide can handle — and the Yankees led 1-0 and Ray settled down slightly brilliantly.

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He went 16 straight batters after the Decide dwelling run and didn’t surrender successful. And it wasn’t simply that he didn’t surrender successful. He gave up lazy fly balls. He gave up simple grounders. He was spectacular till he went by means of the Yankees for that harmful third time.

The quantity that drives the pitchers of outdated considerably loopy however the statistics folks will inform you have got vital benefit.

Within the sixth, Ray made a slightly candy fielding play to get the primary out. After which the whole lot fell aside.

Blue Jays starting pitcher Robbie Ray delivers a pitch against the New York Yankees in the first inning. DAN HAMILTON/USA TODAY SPORTS
Blue Jays beginning pitcher Robbie Ray delivers a pitch towards the New York Yankees within the first inning. DAN HAMILTON/USA TODAY SPORTS

Anthony Rizzo hit a house run with one out to tie the sport 2-2. Decide adopted that with one other bomb and it was 3-2 Yankees. Ray then walked Giancarlo Stanton on pitches the Jays thought have been strikes earlier than Gleyber Torres hit a house run — a three-home run inning towards the American League’s finest pitcher this season — and it was 5-2 New York.

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4 hits towards Ray. That was nice. 4 dwelling runs. Not so nice.

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And this approaching an evening when Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gave the Jays an early alternative. Bichette had received the second sport of the sequence with a late dwelling run after an early dwelling run. Guerrero had been quiet of late till he hit a run-scoring double within the fifth inning which appeared prefer it was going to be a house run after the Jays received an umpire problem on an obvious double play.

If you win these, as inconsistent as they could be, you assume issues are going the Jays manner. The Jays obtained the run. Ray appeared virtually unhittable till he was — and provides the Yankees credit score for that, the blasts coming at their most opportune instances.

The Jays now path the Yankees by three video games with three to go, which mainly guidelines them out of that wild card spot. Seattle and Boston are a sport forward of the Jays. In a sport of numbers, the partitions are closing in on the Jays.

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Ray was so near being close to good Thursday night time. He might not have had his unhittable slider however the Yankees couldn’t resolve him by means of the primary 5 innings. Couldn’t even handle successful after the Decide dwelling run. After which what appeared nice, wasn’t, the story in some methods of this Blue Jays crew and this season.

With two MVP candidates, a Cy Younger candidate, an infield hitting with file energy numbers, a deep beginning pitching employees, possibly the deepest within the divison and a lights-out nearer, they nonetheless discover themselves in fourth place within the East.

Like Robbie Ray’s first and maybe solely full season as a Blue Jay, there was magic throughout. And now the Jays are left to determine how did this season obtained away from them.

ssimmons@postmedia.com

twitter.com/simmonssteve

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