Vladimir Guerrero Jr. fell one hit shy of 200 as the Jays lost 3-1 to the Marlins in season finale

The Jays scored their only run in the bottom of the seventh, as Luis De Los Santos hit his second double of the year, Steward Berroa hit a single, and Joey Loperfido grounded out to drive in the former, making it 3-1.

Diving into the stats…

Unfortunately, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. fell one hit shy of reaching 200 hits for the first time in his career. This season, he finished the year slashing .323/.396/.544 with 30 home runs in 697 plate appearances for a 165 wRC+, nearly matching his wRC+ total that he had in 2021. It’s time to pay him.

It was a quiet day for the Blue Jays bats’ all around, as they totaled just four hits in the game. Steward Berroa had two of them, both singles, as he went 2-4 in this game. Luis De Los Santos had the team’s only extra-base hit, a double, while Jonatan Clase had a single in this game.

The Blue Jays had another bullpen day as Chris Bassitt was pulled from Saturday’s start earlier in the week. Ryan Burr pitched the first inning, giving up two earned runs in his inning of work to finish the season with a 4.13 ERA. However, Ryan Yarbrough continued to pitch well, striking out three and allowing four hits in three and two thirds innings, giving him a season ERA of 3.19. Toronto should look to bring back the lefty long-man.

Dillon Tate gave up an earned run in his inning of work, while striking out two and walking a batter. Brett de Geus pitched a clean inning and a third. Moreover, Brandon Eisert registered his first big league strikeout, as he finished with a line of 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. He could play a role on the Blue Jays next season.

The Blue Jays’ 74-87 record means that they’ll have the fifth-best odds (7.48%) of landing the first-overall pick when the draft lottery rolls around in early December.

Next up is the off-season, as the Blue Jays need to improve this team if they hope to contend. According to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, Blue Jays’ manager John Schneider noted that they need a better bullpen and a power bat in the middle of the lineup.

With all that being said, thanks for reading along with all the post-games this season! It was a blast to write them, and hopefully next season the Blue Jays are competitive.