...
By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The way the Toronto Blue Jays were rolling, it seemed like Tuesday night's game against the Minnesota Twins was destined to be another win. But no game is over until the final three outs are recorded.
Closer Jeff Hoffman, whose first year in Toronto has been a roller coaster, entered with a 4-3 lead, facing the bottom of the Minnesota order. But Mickey Gasper stunned everyone with a leadoff home run, the first of his career, and then Matt Wallner provided the dagger with a three-run shot to secure the win.
Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees both won, so the Blue Jays' lead in the American League East fell to four and 4 1/2 games over their two pursuers, respectively.
Read More on MLB
...
Hoffman's 4.77 ERA on the year isn't representative of how good he can be when he's on. But it's also not his first blow-up outing.
Manager John Schneider still expressed confidence in Hoffman overall, but seemed to admit that his occasional struggles, which are difficult to see coming, can make life difficult for the skipper.
"Every time I bring a guy in, I'm expecting them to just be who they are," Schneider said, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. "Sometimes, it's not that.
"You've got to deal with it and you've got to move on. The worst thing you can do is sit on it and sulk about it. This group has been so good about turning the page to tomorrow, and you've got to do that."
Hoffman now has 74 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings, which is fairly elite, but he's got a 4.77 ERA and 4.48 FIP. He's given up 12 home runs, and he's blown seven of his 35 save chances, which is far from an ideal conversion rate.
Still, Hoffman is probably one of the relievers you'd most want on the mound in a big spot of any pitcher on a team headed to the postseason, based on pure stuff. That makes his occasional struggle all the more difficult to fathom.
More MLB: Dodgers 'Likely' to Make This $10M Max Muncy Decision, Per Insider
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines