{"id":7405,"date":"2017-07-12T22:45:50","date_gmt":"2017-07-13T02:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/?p=7405"},"modified":"2017-07-12T22:51:37","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T02:51:37","slug":"smoak-osuna-blue-jays-well-star-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2017\/07\/12\/smoak-osuna-blue-jays-well-star-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Smoak, Osuna Represent Blue Jays Well in All-Star Game"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Tuesday night was a night to remember for the American League All-Stars as they knocked off the National League 2-1 in extra innings in a pitching duel that was cracked when <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiQxoycm4XVAhVDGT4KHZFbDWQQFgg_MAE&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.baseball-reference.com%2Fplayers%2Fc%2Fcanoro01.shtml&amp;usg=AFQjCNEEcX-pyNKkI6MQ5jIbJN3sdbsgHw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Robinson Cano<\/a><\/strong> hit a solo home run to open up the 10th inning. The Toronto Blue Jays sent two of their own to partake in the mid-summer classic, sending closer <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/o\/osunaro01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roberto Osuna<\/a><\/strong> and first baseman<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/smoakju01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Justin Smoak<\/a><\/strong>. Osuna and Smoak both played a part in the victory.<\/p>\n<h2>Smoak, Osuna Represent Blue Jays Well in All-Star Game<\/h2>\n<h3>Justin Smoak starts for the American League All-Stars<\/h3>\n<p>Smoak has had an unbelievable season so far and he was rewarded for it, being named the starting first baseman on the American League team. After batting .217 with an OPS of .705 and 14 home runs last season, Smoak has drastically improved his play this season, batting .294 with a .936 OPS and 23 home runs already this season.<\/p>\n<p>Smoak singled and walked during his two plate appearances at the All-Star game, and he should be happy with his performance in his first ever All-Star game. Smoak has been a bright light for the Jays who have struggled offensively at times this season, and unlike <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjBs6PemoXVAhUB4D4KHUi4ARoQFghCMAE&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.baseball-reference.com%2Fplayers%2Fs%2Fsaundmi01.shtml&amp;usg=AFQjCNFBxAAz5mt_yQ6egR6sRbVCtqwFEg\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Saunders<\/a><\/strong> last season, Smoak will be hoping to continue his run of strong play for the Jays after the All-Star break.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8This Just-In! \ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n<p>Smoak has been officially announced into his first All-Star Game! \ud83d\udc4f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oJQqhvRqju\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/oJQqhvRqju<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BlueJays\/status\/884927816801845248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 12, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Osuna gets the job done in the seventh<\/h3>\n<p>After being <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tsn.ca\/blue-jays-p-osuna-added-to-al-all-star-team-1.799257\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">named<\/a> to the All-Star team as a replacement only a few days before the All-Star Game, Osuna pitched the seventh inning for the American League team, doing his part to keep the pitcher&#8217;s duel going on, sending the game to the eighth inning tied 1-1.<\/p>\n<p>Osuna started off by getting Arizona&#8217;s <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj5w8H_moXVAhXH2T4KHdCDABgQFgg5MAE&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.baseball-reference.com%2Fplayers%2Fg%2Fgoldspa01.shtml&amp;usg=AFQjCNHbBP_aMDeaDfYDc5cm5bzdYJgmww\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Goldschmidt<\/a><\/strong> to fly out before allowing a single to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=3&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjDr73ymoXVAhVGbD4KHRc5DxgQFgg7MAI&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.baseball-reference.com%2Fplayers%2Fc%2Fconfomi01.shtml&amp;usg=AFQjCNHhZxmANpc2MWpnuM4tJNt-EPRAiw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Conforto<\/a><\/strong> of the Mets. He then closed off the inning by getting <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=5&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwi3mOaLm4XVAhXHGD4KHZt-CFwQFghFMAQ&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.baseball-reference.com%2Fplayers%2Fs%2Fseageco01.shtml&amp;usg=AFQjCNHHCZLZfPVZcAwB4nZ1rER3pNPO0g\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Corey Seager<\/a><\/strong> of the Dodgers to ground out into a double play. Goldschmidt, Conforto, and Seager are all big names to face, but Osuna got the job done, and he was able to enjoy the rest of the night after being replaced by Houston&#8217;s <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=3&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;sqi=2&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiTyeK6m4XVAhWMaz4KHWo4ChoQFgg6MAI&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.baseball-reference.com%2Fplayers%2Fd%2Fdevench02.shtml&amp;usg=AFQjCNFLw5OYMOB7dKb_IQq6EyuWoVWIfg\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Devenski<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/sports\/baseball\/mlb\/roberto-osuna-bullpen-availability-friday-1.4176728\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Osuna<\/a>, like many of us, has been struggling with\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/o\/osunaro01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">anxiety<\/a>\u00a0lately, but you wouldn&#8217;t know that from the way he&#8217;s been pitching this season. The 22-year-old from Juan Jose Rios, Mexico has 22 saves this season and an ERA of 2.06.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;I grew up with a lot of dreams and this is one of them. Being an All-Star means everything to me and my family.&quot; &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RobertoOsuna1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@RobertoOsuna1<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QchA4D0SSU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/QchA4D0SSU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BlueJays\/status\/884842252480262144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 11, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Blue Jays will head to Detroit on Friday to open up a three-game series against the Tigers at Comerica Park. The Jays will be hoping to get back on track after losing 19-1 to the Houston Astros on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/812884074\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.666667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/812884074?et=43Drf7scQG1Cg4Pw-cIpwA&amp;tld=com&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=sjSOKyWrsG0LxnR0oiImW-L3jysrDyR7ETjJw2hkWu4=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tuesday night was a night to remember for the American League All-Stars as they knocked off the National League 2-1 in extra innings in a pitching duel that was cracked when Robinson Cano hit a solo home run to open up the 10th inning. The Toronto Blue Jays sent two of their own to partake [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1734,"featured_media":7420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1071],"tags":[239,68,1098,69,120,468],"class_list":["post-7405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bluejays","category-mlb","tag-american-league","tag-baseball","tag-justin-smoak","tag-mlb","tag-national-league","tag-roberto-osuna"],"modified_by":"John Jackson","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1734"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}