Latest news with #EricLauer
CTV News
2 days ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Blue Jays starter Eric Lauer in form as Toronto dumps Arizona 8-1
Blue Jays pitcher Eric Lauer (56) works against the Arizona Diamondbacks during first-inning MLB action in Toronto on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn TORONTO — Pitcher Eric Lauer has done a little bit of everything for the Toronto Blue Jays since his season debut seven weeks ago. The 30-year-old left-hander has worked in short relief, served in a bulk role and is now used as a spot starter. He has been getting results every step of the way. Lauer was in top form Wednesday night, allowing one earned run over five-plus innings in an 8-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Rogers Centre. 'He has been really damn good,' said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. Lauer (3-1) had a season-high eight strikeouts and allowed four hits and a walk. Over his last five appearances, he has given up three earned runs over 19 innings and held opponents to a .136 average. He credits fastball command for his solid performance this season. 'Speeding guys up, slowing them down, moving them in and out and up and down — that's pitching to me,' Lauer said. 'To me, I'm a pitcher. I've never been an overpowering guy. I've never been just a stuff guy. I'm not going to out-stuff people. 'But I think I can make my pitches play up better than they actually are based on how I can throw my fastball.' Bo Bichette hit a leadoff homer off Eduardo Rodriguez (2-4) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in three runs for the Blue Jays (40-33), who will go for a three-game sweep Thursday afternoon. Bichette and Addison Barger had three hits apiece while Guerrero reached base five times. He had a single, double and three walks. Toronto has won 11 of its last 12 home games and earned 14 victories over its last 19 games overall. Lauer threw five shutout frames before he was pulled after giving up a leadoff triple to Corbin Carroll in the sixth. With Yariel Rodriguez on in relief, Carroll scored the lone run for Arizona (36-37) on a groundout by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Toronto answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning and broke the game open with a three-run seventh. The Blue Jays improved to 15-8 in interleague play. Lauer has made four starts this season in a rotation anchored by veteran right-handers Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt. Max Scherzer made only one start due to a thumb issue and Bowden Francis was mostly ineffective before landing on the IL this week due to a shoulder impingement. Lauer has filled in admirably when needed and has likely earned himself a temporary spot in the five-man mix. 'Over the course of the year, your depth is going to get tested,' Schneider said. 'So to have a guy like him step up has been awesome.' A first-round pick (No. 25 overall) by San Diego in 2016, Lauer made his big-league debut with the Padres in 2018. He later spent parts of four seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers before splitting last year between Triple-A and the Korean league. Lauer signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays last December and his contract was selected from Triple-A Buffalo on April 30. Since then, he has posted an impressive 2.29 earned-run average over 10 appearances with 36 strikeouts against just 11 walks. 'Your best ability is availability,' Lauer said. 'So I just try to go out there and do my job every time I'm called.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025.
Toronto Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- Toronto Star
Blue Jays starter Eric Lauer in form as Toronto dumps Arizona 8-1
TORONTO - Pitcher Eric Lauer has done a little bit of everything for the Toronto Blue Jays since his season debut seven weeks ago. The 30-year-old left-hander has worked in short relief, served in a bulk role and is now used as a spot starter. He has been getting results every step of the way. Lauer was in top form Wednesday night, allowing one earned run over five-plus innings in an 8-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Rogers Centre. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'He has been really damn good,' said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. Lauer (3-1) had a season-high eight strikeouts and allowed four hits and a walk. Over his last five appearances, he has given up three earned runs over 19 innings and held opponents to a .136 average. He credits fastball command for his solid performance this season. 'Speeding guys up, slowing them down, moving them in and out and up and down — that's pitching to me,' Lauer said. 'To me, I'm a pitcher. I've never been an overpowering guy. I've never been just a stuff guy. I'm not going to out-stuff people. 'But I think I can make my pitches play up better than they actually are based on how I can throw my fastball.' Bo Bichette hit a leadoff homer off Eduardo Rodriguez (2-4) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in three runs for the Blue Jays (40-33), who will go for a three-game sweep Thursday afternoon. Bichette and Addison Barger had three hits apiece while Guerrero reached base five times. He had a single, double and three walks. Toronto has won 11 of its last 12 home games and earned 14 victories over its last 19 games overall. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Lauer threw five shutout frames before he was pulled after giving up a leadoff triple to Corbin Carroll in the sixth. With Yariel Rodriguez on in relief, Carroll scored the lone run for Arizona (36-37) on a groundout by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Toronto answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning and broke the game open with a three-run seventh. The Blue Jays improved to 15-8 in interleague play. Lauer has made four starts this season in a rotation anchored by veteran right-handers Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt. Max Scherzer made only one start due to a thumb issue and Bowden Francis was mostly ineffective before landing on the IL this week due to a shoulder impingement. Lauer has filled in admirably when needed and has likely earned himself a temporary spot in the five-man mix. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'Over the course of the year, your depth is going to get tested,' Schneider said. 'So to have a guy like him step up has been awesome.' A first-round pick (No. 25 overall) by San Diego in 2016, Lauer made his big-league debut with the Padres in 2018. He later spent parts of four seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers before splitting last year between Triple-A and the Korean league. Lauer signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays last December and his contract was selected from Triple-A Buffalo on April 30. Since then, he has posted an impressive 2.29 earned-run average over 10 appearances with 36 strikeouts against just 11 walks. 'Your best ability is availability,' Lauer said. 'So I just try to go out there and do my job every time I'm called.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Blue Jays blast D'backs as Max Scherzer's long-awaited return could be as soon as next week
The boxscore will show that Eric Lauer made his fourth start of the season Wednesday night at the Rogers Centre, allowing one earned run over five-plus innings in a blowout 8-1 Blue Jays win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, with due respect to the lefty's latest handiwork — which included eight strikeouts on Wednesday — the Jays are hoping and intending this latest outing was just keeping the rubber warm in that spot of the rotation for the long-awaited return of it's big off-season pitching acquisition, Max Scherzer. With that in mind, as the Jays breezed to their second in a row over the D'Backs, the bigger development in the zoomed-out view of their season unfolded down in Worcester, Mass., where Scherzer was brilliant in what surely had the feel of his final rehab start with the Jays' triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons. The 40-year-old veteran reached his intended pitch limit of 75 and did so by striking out eight Red Sox hitters over 4.1 scoreless innings. Assuming everything is OK with Scherzer's bothersome thumb, returning to a big league mound for just his second start with the Jays next Tuesday in Cleveland is a real possibility. 'Having the name, having the competitiveness, having the stuff,' Jays manager John Schneider said when asked prior to Wednesday's game what Scherzer could bring to his team. 'It would be huge just to have him, knowing that you have that calibre of pitcher waiting on your staff every fifth day would be a nice shot in the arm.' It would be much more than that, of course. The Jays rotation has been in tatters over the past month, held together by overusing the bullpen at times and sticking with struggling Bowden Francis. That's why Lauer's effort was so critical on Wednesday, causing minimal strain on a bullpen that will be asked to cover multiple innings here on Friday against the Chicago White Sox. In fact, Lauer has been so reliable for the Jays that, down the road, he could slide into the other black hole of the rotation. Bigger things first, though. When you have a three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series champion ready to contribute, you tend to get a little bit excited if you are the Blue Jays. 'That would be good,' Schneider said with a smile and no further explanation when next Tuesday was raised as a possibility for Scherzer, who hasn't pitched in the bigs since a three-inning outing on March 29. 'That would line up nicely.' It would also give the Jays the boost that they need at a time of the season when wear and tear starts to hit pitching staffs around baseball. And as easy as it is to forget, given that Scherzer has spent 70 games on the injured list with that wonky thumb, the Jays paid him $15.5 million US on a one-year deal for a reason. Prior to Wednesday's win, the Jays' 14th in their past 19 to move their record to 40-33, Schneider was asked what it was like to be on the other side when Scherzer's name came up as a probable pitcher for the opposition. 'It sucked,' the manager said. 'You know what you were getting into. You know that it's a future Hall of Famer that knows how to pitch. And whether he's got 94 (miles per hour on his fastball) or 98 in the tank that night, he knows what he's doing.' Down in Worcester, Scherzer certainly appeared to be accelerating on the right track, with a fastball hovering around 94 miles per hour and confounding triple-A hitters. 'He always thinks his stuff is ready,' Schneider said. 'I think it's more the physical part, how he's feeling tonight, tomorrow and the days in between. He thinks he could strike everybody out right now.' Doing it for the Blue Jays and doing so soon could be one of the biggest developments of a season headed in the right direction for the better part of the past month. On Wednesday, the Jays picked up where they left off in Tuesday's dramatic ninth-inning comeback victory, when leadoff hitter Bo Bichette launched his 10th homer of the season in the first, a 418-foot blast to centre field. They broke it open in the sixth when back-to-back doubles from Addison Barger and Vlad Guerrero Jr. (and how are those bats back-to-back working for you?) were part of a three-run burst to increase the lead to 5-1 before a crowd of 27,635. Barger continued his torrid play at the plate with a pair of doubles and a single. Of his 46 base hits this season, 24 have been for extra bases. In taking the first two against the D'Backs for a rousing start to a six-game home stand, the Jays have now won 11 of their past 12 Rogers Centre contests. That three-game weekend sweep at the hands of the Phillies in Philadelphia is the Jays' only series loss in their previous seven.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Eric Lauer fans eight as Blue Jays cruise past Diamondbacks
June 19 - Eric Lauer struck out a season-best eight, Bo Bichette homered among three hits and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks 8-1 on Wednesday night. Lauer (3-1) allowed one run, four hits and one walk in five-plus innings to help the Blue Jays clinch the three-game series with one to play. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two hits, three walks and three RBIs, Bichette had two RBIs, Addison Barger had three hits and an RBI and Ernie Clement had three hits for Toronto. Bichette started Toronto's first with a homer to center on a 1-0 sinker from Eduardo Rodriguez (2-4). Toronto added a run in the third. Tyler Heineman singled, Barger doubled with one out and Guerrero was walked intentionally to load the bases. With two out, Jose Herrera was called for catcher's interference on George Springer's swing to force in a run. Toronto loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth and did not score. Bichette lined a single to left, Barger blooped a single to left and Guerrero walked. Bichette was out at home on Alejandro Kirk's grounder to third and Springer struck out before Tayler Scott entered to retire Clement on a fly to left. Rodriguez allowed two runs (one earned), six hits and three walks (one intentional) with four strikeouts. Yariel Rodriguez replaced Lauer in the sixth after Corbin Carroll's leadoff triple to the right-field corner. Carroll scored on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s groundout to third. Toronto scored three in the bottom of the inning. Pinch hitter Alan Roden hit a one-out infield single deflected by Scott and Bichette singled to right on a sweeping swing on an outside pitch. Barger doubled in one run and Guerrero doubled in two more. Toronto added three more in the seventh against Kevin Ginkel after loading the bases on Clement's double, a hit batter and a walk. Heineman hit a sacrifice fly, Bichette's groundout to the pitcher scored a run and Guerrero's single scored another. Carroll left the game in the eighth after being hit in the left hand by a Justin Bruihl fastball. The Diamondbacks announced that X-rays on Carroll's hand were negative. Arizona catcher Gabriel Moreno (hand) did not play. Toronto's Myles Straw (sprained ankle) and Jonatan Clase (bruised knee) are considered day-to-day. --Field Level Media
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Bo Bichette homers again to help the Blue Jays beat the Diamondbacks, 8-1
Bo Bichette had a home run among his three hits, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reached base five times and drove in three, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8–1 on Wednesday night. Addison Barger had three hits and a walk, and left-hander Eric Lauer (3–1) pitched five innings to help Toronto improve to 24–13 at home. Guerrero walked in his first three plate appearances, including an intentional pass in the third. He hit a two-run double in the sixth and singled home a run in the seventh. Arizona arrived in Toronto having won five of six but lost its third straight, its longest skid since losing three in a row in late May. Diamondbacks left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (2–4) allowed two runs (one earned) and six hits in 4 2/3 innings, his first losing decision since April 29 against the Mets. Bichette, who hit a tying home run in the ninth inning Tuesday in a 5–4 victory, connected for the second straight at-bat when he lined Rodriguez's second pitch 418 feet to left. It was Bichette's third career leadoff home run, two of which have come this season. He has 10 home runs this season. Arizona's Corbin Carroll stayed in to run the bases after being hit on the hand by a pitch in the top of the eighth but exited in the bottom half. Alek Thomas took Carroll's spot in the lineup. Key moment: Barger and Guerrero hit back-to-back doubles off Tayler Scott in Toronto's three-run sixth. One run scored on Barger's hit, while Guerrero's scored two. Key stat: The Blue Jays are 27–2 when they score five or more runs. Up next: Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (5–5, 4.08 ERA) was scheduled to start against RHP Ryne Nelson (3–2, 4.14) on Thursday as Toronto goes for its sixth sweep of the season.
