Blue Jays strike late to best Yankees as search for identity continues
As the Toronto Blue Jays continue trying to work through their ongoing slump, they are also, to a certain extent, trying to work out who they collectively are at the plate.
NEW YORK – As the Toronto Blue Jays continue trying to work through their ongoing slump, they are also, to a certain extent, trying to work out who they collectively are at the plate.
Back in 2021 and 2022, when runs were plentiful and the homers came in bunches, their identity as a lineup seeking to do – and very capable of – consistent damage was clear. That began to shift in 2023 and became further muddled in the quicksand that was 2024.
Who are they now?
That’s the real question, one that 26 games into the new season after Friday night’s win over the New York Yankees, with a new hitting coach, several new players and some worryingly familiar struggles, is still far too early to definitively answer.
Dogged at-bats and adapting approach to the game situation are at the bedrock of what David Popkins, the new hitting coach, has been preaching. In turn, that should lead to slug, which even after Vladimir Guerrero Jr., went deep for the second time this season, remains scarce.
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For the time being, there needs to be some trust in the process, since, “I know first-hand if you start searching for that power, things get a lot worse,” said Bo Bichette.
“I think if our identity is as a team that competes every day and has good at-bats and gets on base and just makes it tough on the pitcher, that bodes well for us. There are a bunch of guys in here that I know can get hot with power, so I don’t think that’s something we should be worried about. We should be worried about making sure that we’re tough outs every single pitch.”
The Blue Jays did a pretty good job of that through the first 3 1/2 weeks of the season through last weekend, when they dropped two of three to the visiting Mariners but went 3-for-19 and 5 for-21 with runners in scoring position in the two losses.
But the three-game sweep they suffered in Houston before arriving to the Bronx was different, as they managed just nine hits in total and took only eight at-bats with a runner in scoring position, none in the middle contest.
Under different circumstances, the losses could be brushed off as a rough series, but on the heels of the Mariners losses, amid a season-long grind, after two consecutive years of declining offence, it’s simply harder to turn the page when it all feels so familiar.
The Blue Jays hit a club record 262 homers in 2021, dropped all the way to 156 last year and with 14 so far this year, have the second-fewest in the majors. And without instant offence, all other shortcomings can become magnified.
“It’s easier to hunt for power when you’re locked in, but home runs are mistakes. Pitchers throw home runs. We don’t hit them,” said Bichette.
“Typically power comes for me when I’m having competitive at-bats, just trying to hit the ball hard, trying to hit line drives and then I take advantage of mistakes. I feel like I can have a few this year, but definitely that’s something that I think we’re probably all battling in here, is just sticking to the process, keep having good at-bats, hitting the ball hard and realizing that power will come.”
In its absence, the pressure of quality at-bats stacked together is all-the-more essential.
Guerrero’s laser beam to left-centre leading off the sixth may have opened the scoring, but the Yankees tied it in the seventh when Anthony Volpe opened the inning with a double and scored on Oswaldo Cabrera’s base hit through a drawn-in infield.
Then in the eighth, Mason Fluharty came on with the bases empty and one out, gave up a bloop double to Cody Bellinger that fell in between three Blue Jays defenders, walked Jazz Chisholm Jr., hit Volpe and then gave up a go-ahead sacrifice fly to Austin Wells. Addison Barger caught the ball but yanked his throw to the plate.
But the Blue Jays didn’t let up, as struggling Yankees closer Devin Williams gave up a leadoff single to George Springer, hit Andres Gimenez and after a crowd of 46,081 began chanting “We want Weaver” – a reference to elite set-up man Luke Weaver – gave up a two-run double to Alejandro Kirk that restored the lead at 3-2.
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Their first hit with a runner in scoring position this week was quickly followed by a second as Barger padded the lead with a single off Mark Leiter Jr., and closer Jeff Hoffman, facing the top of the Yankees lineup, closed out the win for his sixth save.
