Offensive outburst gives Blue Jays sweep over Mariners
This is the kind of game the Blue Jays have been searching for all season.
SEATTLE – This is the kind of game the Blue Jays have been searching for all season.
They built an early lead, got big swings from a couple power bats and kept adding insurance runs as the game progressed.
It added up to a 9-1 win at T-Mobile Park Sunday, leading to a sweep of the Mariners, a successful 4-2 West Coast road trip and a return to .500, at 20-20. For a team that’s played one close game after another, this was a much-needed release – and a long overdue reminder of how fun it is to win comfortably once in a while.
Better still, the Blue Jays pulled this off on a bullpen day with starters Daulton Varsho and Anthony Santander resting their respective shoulders on the bench. And thanks to the offence’s best output of the season, their overworked bullpen could finally breathe a little.
If it feels like the Blue Jays have been waiting for this for a while, well, it’s true. Before Sunday, every one of their wins since April 8 had been by a margin of three runs or fewer. That’s a long time to stress over every single win, and while the bullpen has generally been up to the challenge, on Sunday they didn’t have to be.
After a couple serviceable innings by starter Jose Urena, left-hander Eric Lauer stepped up with 4.2 innings of scoreless relief work, striking out five. Later, Braydon Fisher made his MLB debut with a scoreless ninth.
But the difference in this one was the offence. In the fifth inning, George Springer delivered the game’s biggest hit, crushing a poorly located Bryce Miller fastball into the second deck in left field for a three-run home run that broke the game open.
There were contributions from the bottom of the order, as Nathan Lukes put together a three-hit day and Ernie Clement added two singles. And from the No. 3 spot in the batting order, Addison Barger continued his big weekend by hitting an opposite-field home run over the right field wall.
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Barger also drew a walk and ripped a single, while starting in the top third of the lineup for the first time in the big-leagues.
Barger was hitting third because both Varsho and Santander were resting their shoulders. It was just a couple weeks ago that Varsho returned from off-season surgery on his right shoulder, while Santander hit his left shoulder while attempting a catch at Angel Stadium Thursday and hasn’t played since.
With an off-day scheduled Monday, both Varsho and Santander will get an extra break before the Blue Jays host the Rays in Toronto starting Tuesday.
On a related note, catcher Alejandro Kirk left the game early after taking a Julio Rodriguez backswing to the head in the third inning.
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While he initially stayed in the game and hit a double to left field, Kirk eventually gave way to backup Tyler Heineman as an apparent precaution.
With a season-high four-game win streak in place, the Blue Jays are as well positioned as they have been for a while.
There’s lots of work ahead, of course, and no one seeks or awards medals for playing .500 baseball, but there’s a lot to be said for resting leverage relievers and building a little momentum at the plate.
On Sunday, for the first time in a while, the Blue Jays accomplished both goals.
