MLB

Oakland Athletics at Toronto Blue Jays

· Major League Baseball
Oakland Athletics
20-60, 11-31 Away
Final
1 - 12
Toronto Blue Jays
43-36, 21-14 Home

Springer hits 55th career leadoff homer as Blue Jays rout Athletics 12-1

Tony Kemp hit a solo home run, his third, but Oakland lost for the 10th time in 11 games following a seven-game winning streak. The Athletics are 40 games below .500 at 20-60, tying for the ninth-worst record through 80 games in major league history. It’s the worst 80-game start since Detroit opened 19-61 in 2003.

Springer went 2 for 3 with a walk and two RBI, including a sacrifice fly. His game-opening drive broke a tie with Alfonso Soriano and gave the 2017 World Series MVP sole possession of second place on baseball’s all-time list. Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson leads with 81 leadoff home runs.

“It’s special, it’s cool,” Springer said. “You don’t really think of that as a kid or as a player, but it’s awesome. I’m happy about it.”

Springer connected on right-hander Luis Medina’s 1-0 pitch, driving it 392 feet. The homer was Springer’s 11th.

Springer has 16 leadoff home runs since joining the Blue Jays before the 2021 season, including three this season. The four-time All-Star set Toronto’s single-season mark with nine leadoff homers in 2022.

“When he’s swinging at the right pitch, he’s as dangerous as anyone,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “He makes us go at the top of the lineup. He’s a big part of what we are, how we’re built.”

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two hits and an RBI and Santiago Espinal reached base three times and drove in two for Toronto.

Cavan Biggio hit a three-run homer, his seventh, and Bo Bichette had two hits and an RBI as the Blue Jays won for the 10th time in their past 12 home meetings with the Athletics.

Kikuchi (7-2) allowed one run and two hits. He walked two and struck out eight, winning for the first time since May 30 against Milwaukee.

“It’s always fun when he’s on the mound because he cares so much,” Springer said. “He’s been quietly very, very good.”

The left-handed Kikcuhi has a 2.28 ERA in five June starts.

“It was a great, great day for him,” Schneider said.

Kikuchi retired the first 10 batters in order before Carlos Pérez doubled in the fourth. Kikuchi struck out the next two batters to end the inning.

Medina (1-7) allowed four runs, three earned, and four hits in five innings. He struck out four and walked a career-worst seven. Medina walked seven total batters in four May appearances.

“It was a weird outing,” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said. “He had, at one point, seven 0-2 counts and quite a few four-pitch walks. Command was key today. He struggled, he fought himself with throwing strikes.”

Biggio’s homer, a first-pitch drive off right-hander Yacksel Ríos, was the big hit in Toronto’s five-run eighth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays C Tyler Heineman left in the eighth after feeling discomfort in his left side on a swing. He was replaced by Danny Jansen.

MULTI-TALENTED

Bichette leads the AL with 30 multi-hit games this season.

DINO SIGHTING

Toronto Raptors draft pick Gradey Dick attended the game.​​ The 6-foot-8 sharpshooter set a freshmen record with 83 3-pointers at Kansas last season. The Raptors selected Dick 13th overall in the draft on Thursday.

UP NEXT

Athletics: RHP Paul Blackburn (0-0, 4.21) starts Tuesday as Oakland visits New York to begin a three-game series against the Yankees. RHP Jhony Brito (4-3, 4.89) starts for New York.

Blue Jays: Toronto begins a three-game series at home against San Francisco on Tuesday. Neither team had named a starter for the opener.

How can I watch Oakland Athletics vs. Toronto Blue Jays?
  • TV Channel: Athletics at Blue Jays 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.tv.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Blue Jays: 71.8%
Athletics: 28.2%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Peterson popped out to shortstop.
9th Inning Díaz flied out to center.
9th Inning Rooker struck out looking.
9th Inning Pérez walked.
9th Inning Francis relieved Thornton
9th Inning Jansen catching.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/oak.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originOAK https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/tor.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTOR
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 0
7 Ground Balls 12
9 Strikeouts 9
1 Runs Batted In 9
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
3 Hits 11
0 Stolen Bases 0
3 Walks 9
0 Catcher Interference 0
1 Runs 12
1 Ground Into Double Play 1
0 Sacrifice Flies 1
29 At Bats 33
1 Home Runs 2
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
11 Runners Left On Base 20
0 Triples 1
0 Game Winning RBIs 1
0 Intentional Walks 0
1 Doubles 2
13 Fly Balls 13
0 Caught Stealing 0
124 Pitches 169
0 Games Started 0
1 Pinch At Bats 0
1 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 0
7 Total Bases 21
32 Plate Appearances 43
162.0 Projected Home Runs 324.0
2 Extra Base Hits 5
0.6 Runs Created 9.5
.103 Batting Average .333
1.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.241 Slugging Percentage .636
.241 Secondary Average .576
.188 On Base Percentage .465
.429 OBP Pct + SLG Pct 1.101
0.5 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.9
0.6 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 10.7
12.0 Batter Rating 65.5
29.0 At Bats Per Home Run 16.5
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.88 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 3.93
.138 Isolated Power .303
0.33 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 1.00
.094 Walks Per Plate Appearance .209
.138 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .242
2.0 Runs Produced 21.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 0.8
0.3 Patience Ratio 0.8
0.1 Balls In Play Average 0.4
63.0 MLB Rating 106.8
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Rogers Centre

Location: Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 41,069 | Capacity:

2024 American League West Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Houston 88 73 .547 - W2
Seattle 85 77 .525 3.5 W4
Texas 78 84 .481 10.5 W3
Oakland 69 93 .426 19.5 L3
Los Angeles 63 99 .389 25.5 L6

2024 American League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
New York 94 68 .580 - W1
Baltimore 91 71 .562 3 W3
Boston 81 81 .500 13 W1
Tampa Bay 80 82 .494 14 L1
Toronto 74 88 .457 20 L3
Full Standings