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Blue Jays bats finally find some power and muscle their way to victory: ‘Proud of the way they came back’

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You’re not reading the headline wrong – the Toronto Blue Jays actually found some power in their bats.

Whether it’s because hitting coach David Popkins was ejected early in the game and that rallied the crew, or the club just finally started to see the ball better, the Jays started slow out of the gate but found a rhythm as the game wore on, erasing a 6-0 deficit heading into the top of the eighth inning. Maybe Daulton Varsho’s return was the spark plug this team needed to find a way to hit again, albeit a day late.

“That was really good,” said manager John Schneider. ” I am so impressed and proud of the way they came back. It’s obvious we’re grinding, we’re down by six, and it’s easy to just fold, and they did the exact opposite. There are so many things that happened, just overall, proud of those guys.”

It started with Varsho capitalizing on a hanging changeup from Red Sox starter Lucas Giolito, driving the offering 403 feet over the right field wall to score two runs (George Springer walked before Varsho). Alejandro Kirk followed suit shortly after, driving a solo shot of his own over the centre field wall to make the game 6-3. Similar to Varsho, the backstop drove a middle-middle changeup 106.4 MPH over the wall – the type of offering that deserves to land on Front Street.

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The Jays were starting to climb their way back into the game and started another rally in the top of the seventh, with Ernie Clement and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. getting on base with singles of their own to the outfield off of reliever Garrett Whitlock. Guerrero’s knock was a 119 MPH rocket to left field, driving the middle changeup hard up the left side. It wasn’t a home run similar to what Kirk and Varsho had supplied, but Anthony Santander made up for it with a three-run blast right after, smashing another hanging changeup over the right field wall to tie the game.

“There was a lot of emotion,” said Anthony Santander, speaking about his home run. “For a tight game, in that situation, tying the game and putting the team in a good position to win the ballgame… It started with Varsho and Kirk giving us good momentum before the seventh inning, and then to see Kirky with the line drive, that was amazing.”

For the longest time this season, the Jays have struggled to capitalize on mistakes made by the opposing pitching staff.

Changeups were driven into the dirt, fastballs were taken for strike three, lazy flyballs and popups one after the other – it was a host of problems. It’s the reason the Jays rank towards the bottom in numerous power-related statistical categories heading into tonight’s game (and still sitting there, even after the power surge today).

But tonight’s contest hit a bit differently, whether it’s because the bats were just continuously sitting changeups and driving the pitch, or the Jays hitters were just plainly seeing the ball better, the rallies didn’t all slowly fade away as these past two weeks have felt like. Not all of the momentum shifts were winners, such as the third inning that ended with two strikeouts and a lazy flyout with two runners on, but that didn’t stay consistent the whole night – a trend that has followed the Jays all season long and sunk them on numerous occasions.

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The club finished the game with a mix of soft and loud contact and double-digit hits, with Kirk, Varsho, Ernie Clement, and Bo Bichette all having multi-hit days. Every batter made it on base one way or another except for Addison Barger (not counting the forceout) and Andres Gimenez and the Jays found a way to win it all in extra innings off the bat of Kirk, who the Red Sox intentionally faced after forcing walks to Springer and Varsho to load the bags after Guerrero’s daring tag up to swipe third base. A drive to the outfield sealed the game, and Jays fans left happy, Kirk bobbleheads in tow.

It took some extra innings to put the game on ice, but today, the bats figured out a way to support the pitching staff when they struggled through a bullpen day. For a good chunk of the season, this pitching staff has been carrying the bats to close out victories and today, when the pitchers struggled to keep the game close, it was the bats that came to the rescue.

It might be the spark that lights the fuse for the bats as the schedule turns over into May and a game that improves the Jays’ record to 14-16 after a tough month in the trenches.

“It’s what we’ve been missing,” said Schneider. “It feels great. Varsho getting us going, Kirky has been swinging well these past couple of days, especially tonight. Tony, hopefully that gets him going, that’s exactly why we brought him in here.”

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