*Photo from the Associated Press*
Teoscar Hernandez had himself a night. Hernandez homered twice and drove in 3 runs, Marcus Semien hit an RBI double, and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Atlanta Braves with a 4-1 win Wednesday night. Toronto didn't start the scoring until late, but they scored enough to get the win.
Hernandez said of his two homer night that "At the beginning of the season, I was getting too anxious at the plate. I was getting too aggressive and I was missing a lot of pitches because I was trying to hit the ball as far as I can instead of just going out and controlling my body and swing. I know that if I put a good swing on the ball, it’s going to go a long way."
Semien got the scoring kicked off in the 6th with an RBI double to tie the game at one for the Blue Jays. In the 7th inning, Hernandez gave Toronto a 2-1 lead with a solo homer to center field. In the 9th, he cranked a two run homer to center, giving Toronto a 4-1 lead and sealing up the win.
Hyun-Jin Ryu had a solid outing for the Jays, allowing just one run on 5 hits and one walk, carving up 6 strikeouts over 7 brilliant innings pitched. With the amount of injuries Toronto has had to important pitchers, Ryu's starts are especially important. Tyler Chatwood locked down the 8th inning after Ryu departed, and AJ Cole picked up the save in the 9th.
Ryu said of his start that "As a starter, it’s really nice to go deep, go six or seven innings. Obviously, that results in a better outing. I want to go a minimum of six or seven innings each game, and the most important thing is how you manage your pitch counts through the game."
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said of Ryu's start "There’s a big difference between throwing 80 pitches when you’re dealing and 80 pitches when you have to battle every inning. Today, he was on the whole time, so they were comfortable innings. He had enough. By the time the seventh inning came around to face the same lineup three times, it was easy for me to send him back."
The Braves got their lone run in the 5th inning, thanks to a solo homer from William Contreras. Luke Jackson got the loss for Atlanta, allowing the first home run hit by Hernandez, in the 7th inning. Max Fried got the start and a no decision for the Braves, allowing one run on two hits and 3 walks, striking out 4 hitters over 6 innings.
Fried said of his start "I feel like I’m within myself, really focusing on executing and competing. Before, I felt like maybe I was doing a little too much. That crept in a little bit with two strikes tonight. But beyond that, I felt like I was able to move the ball around a little bit."
Toronto and Atlanta wrap up the series today, with Ross Stripling going for the Blue Jays, and Charlie Morton starting for Atlanta.
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