TORONTO – Resuming play out of the all-star break atop the American League East for the first time since 1993 makes this somewhat new ground for these Toronto Blue Jays. A 39-21 run May 8 through July 13 to close out the unofficial first half opened an opportunity for them in an open, but cluttered circuit. What they make of it now is in their own hands.
“We did some really great things, built a good culture, I would say, where winning is first and it’s just a really exciting group of guys to come to the field with,” star shortstop Bo Bichette said. “I don’t really know if anybody’s a role player on our team because everybody has contributed so much, but it really starts with some of the guys who weren’t supposed to be big parts of the team really embracing roles, doing them for the betterment of the team and then contributing a ton – big hits, big moments, all of that. It really starts with them.”
On Friday, as they opened a litmus-test, six-game homestand, the Blue Jays’ success continued with them, too, as RBI singles by Joey Loperfido and Nathan Lukes sandwiched Will Wagner’s two-run double in a four-run second that paced a 4-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Chris Bassitt used a pair of double plays to work around early traffic and delivered six shutout innings, walking off the mound with two on and one out in the seventh to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 41,339. Brendon Little cleared that jam with two strikeouts, Yariel Rodriguez followed with a clean eighth while Jeff Hoffman handled the ninth.
Tidy, efficient stuff all-around.
Still, with less than two weeks to go before the July 31 trade deadline, a pre-game injury update from manager John Schneider underlined the challenges lying ahead for the club.
With lots of bad news – Yimi Garcia, already on the injured list due to a left ankle sprain, is now experiencing “ulnar-nerve symptoms” in his right elbow and facing more tests; Bowden Francis is shut down for at least 10 days after feeling “a bit cranky shoulder-wise” to see if the issue can be abated; Ryan Burr will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery to repair a capsular injury – internal concerns about pitching depth are suddenly more acute.
Add in that Anthony Santander is due back in Toronto on Saturday for testing that’s “a combination of checking up and then if he can get clearance and say, hey, let’s get after it, or if you need more time, you need more time,” according to Schneider, and the Blue Jays’ needs before the deadline have a chance to shift substantially.
The club had, obviously, hoped for better news and “it sucks” not getting it, said Schneider, who added that “I did not like the emails, per se, that (medical director Andrew Pipkin) was sending over the break.”
But, “we always say your depth is going to be tested, that’s been true to this point and guys have done a good job of stepping up,” he added. “Some were OK, but quickest back, you look at probably (Daulton) Varsho, Andres Gimenez to be a little bit quicker than the other guys. We’re going to continue to have to figure out ways to fill the void. It’s been cool to watch some supporting cast members really step up and have us win in ways we weren’t really planning on when the season started. But, yeah, you don’t like to see these things continue to, A, happen or B, take more time than you thought. So, next man up.”
The latest exhibit of that came Friday, as their key offensive contributions came from players who might not have been in the lineup (Lukes) or in the majors (Loperfido, Wagner) if not for the injuries to others.
