TORONTO — John Schneider was asked prior to Friday’s game about the decision to start rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela instead of Tyler Heineman and the manager’s answer was simple.
He felt Valenzuela offered a better chance at generating some power against Minnesota Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson.
“Just get an extra threat to hit one out,” Schneider said.
Sure enough, Valenzuela made good on that estimation, launching the first homer of his major-league career in a pivotal moment of the Toronto Blue Jays’ 10-4 win in front of 40,721 at Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays entered the fourth inning trailing, 4-0, but rallied with RBI doubles from Jesus Sanchez and Davis Schneider and an RBI single from Andres Gimenez. That set the stage for the switch-hitter Valenzuela, who belted a two-out, two-run shot over the right-field fence that completed the comeback and put the Blue Jays ahead 5-4.
The drive, off an 1-0 splitter from right-hander Woods Richardson, left Valenzuela’s bat at 111.4 m.p.h. As far as first home runs go, it doesn’t get much bigger than a go-ahead shot that electrifies a near-sellout crowd and earns a standing ovation.
The Blue Jays continued to pour on the runs in what was the largest offensive output of the campaign thus far. Daulton Varsho clubbed the 100th homer of his career, Schneider collected two hits, two RBIs, two runs and a walk, while the bottom four in the order went a combined 7-for-14 with six RBIs.
That barrage helped mitigate a rough outing from left-hander Patrick Corbin, who was making his first start for the club. The 36-year-old, who’s entering his 14th big-league season, signed a one-year, $1-million deal with the Blue Jays last week and pitched in a game with class-A Dunedin before being called up to Toronto.
The soft-tossing Corbin struggled out the gate, surrendering a three-run homer to Ryan Jeffers in the opening frame and a solo shot to Brooks Lee in the fourth. He allowed four runs on six hits over four innings, walking one and striking out three.
Corbin, a two-time all-star and 2019 World Series champion, has built a career out of simply posting. He’s the only pitcher in MLB to make 30-plus starts in every season since 2017, excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Corbin’s positioned to get some run in the rotation with several Blue Jays starters on the mend.
Right-hander Trey Yesavage, working his way back from a right shoulder impingement, has made two rehab starts with Dunedin, most recently throwing 2.2 innings and 52 pitches on Thursday. The Blue Jays were pleased with Yesavage’s stuff and velocity in that outing and his next time on the mound will likely come in the middle of next week, either in Dunedin or triple-A Buffalo, depending on weather. After that, it’s possible the right-hander could rejoin the major-league club.
Yesavage is ahead of fellow injured starters Jose Berrios, who threw a two-up live batting practice at the team’s player development complex in Florida on Friday and could see minor-league game action next week, and Shane Bieber, who’ll throw off a mound on Saturday.
“We’re trending in the right direction,” said Schneider. “Those guys are getting better.”
Meanwhile, catcher Alejandro Kirk’s timeline is unclear as he recovers from surgery on his left thumb. He’s expected to be out for at least the next month and that makes contributions like Valenzuela’s on Friday even more valuable.
Heineman isn’t locked in as the de facto starter, and if Valenzuela can provide meaningful offensive contributions while managing the pitching staff, there’s no reason why he wouldn’t receive more starts.
