The Blue Jays bats just can’t seem to make up their mind.
A day after being held off the scoresheet, the Blue Birds erupted for a destructive seven-run first inning on Saturday, giving Minnesota Twins rookie starter Zebby Matthews a brutal “welcome to the show” moment.
George Springer led things off, taking one for the team after being hit by a pitch right off the jump. The rest of the Blue Jays paid Matthews back in earnest, with Varsho instantly taking advantage of the man on base and sending a homer straight to centre field.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed that up with a single, then Spencer Horwitz had a chance to flex his muscles, sending another one to the bleachers with a two-run shot to right field.
And just like that, the Blue Jays were up 4-0 after only four batters had stepped up to the plate.
They weren’t done just yet though, as after Addison Barger struck out for the first out of the inning, hits from Alejandro Kirk, Will Wagner, Nathan Lukes and Leo Jimenez scored three more runs and turned the order over before the team had registered even two outs.
Matthews was able to eventually strike out the side, finishing off the inning by punching out Springer and Varsho in each of their second at-bats. Barger got in on the home run action in the second, firing a two-run blast to but the visitors up by nine.
According to Sportsnet Stats, seven runs are the most the Blue Jays have scored in a first inning since Sep. 5, 2018, vs. the Tampa Bay Rays.
It also matched the most runs they’ve scored in a game this season after they scored seven in the second inning against the Chicago White Sox on May 22 and seven in the third inning against the Boston Red Sox on June 25.
