Ross Stripling allowed two hits over seven strong innings and Teoscar Hernandez smashed two homers to give Toronto Blue Jays interim manager John Schneider an 8-2 victory in his debut against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Toronto general manager Ross Atkins fired Charlie Montoyo and deputized the 42-year-old Schneider as the club’s new dugout leader.
“We’re just not playing to our potential,” Atkins said. “I see some small opportunities to help that, and this was one of them. I see a lot of individual things that are positive and some individual areas where we can improve.”
With Montoyo running the team in the opener against the Phillies (46-43) on Tuesday and Schneider taking over before 30,853 at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays (47-42) have won two in a row after winning just once in 10 outings.
It has been a difficult month for the team on a few fronts.
Blue Jays first-base coach Mark Budzinski lost his 17-year-old daughter Julia to a fatal tubing accident on the James River in Richmond, Va., on July 2. Montoyo and others from the Blue Jays organization attended her funeral on Monday.
On the field, Toronto made several critical errors over a 1-6 road trip last week and let a few games slip away.
“Over the course of a season, there’s ups and downs, and I think this has been a weird time of the season,” Schneider said. “You can say certain guys are underperforming. You can say certain coaches are underperforming.
“There are things we can all do better.”
Schneider was a minor-league catcher in the Blue Jays organization for six seasons before coaching and managing at various levels in 2008. He was promoted to the big-league level in 2019.
Stripling (5-3) struck out six and retired the first 11 Phillies before Nick Castellanos smacked a two-out double in the fourth inning. Bryson Stott hit a two-run homer in the seventh, but the runs were unearned because of a Bo Bichette throwing error on a grounder by Rhys Hoskins.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Hernandez drilled homers in the fourth inning to spark a three-run frame.
Schneider managed an aggressive first game. He successfully plotted a hit-and-run in the third inning, and Raimel Tapia and Bichette stole bases in the third and fifth innings, respectively.
The two-game Toronto sweep spoiled Phillies (46-43) interim manager Rob Thomson’s homecoming. The Sarnia, Ont., native became the first Canadian to manage a big-league game in his home country.
His starter, Zack Wheeler (8-5), retired the first six batters he faced. But the Blue Jays ended his night after 4 2/3 innings.
In the third, Matt Chapman led off with a walk. He advanced to third base on a hit-and-run single to left field from Santiago Espinal and scored on Tapia’s fielder’s choice groundout.
Guerrero led off the fourth by slamming his 20th homer, and after an Alejandro Kirk single, Hernandez smacked his 10th off the top of the centre-field wall.
Tapia, George Springer, and Bichette singles pushed the Blue Jays to a 5-0 advantage in the fifth. Springer scored on a Guerrero sacrifice fly.
Hernandez slammed a two-run shot down the right-field line in the eighth inning.
CASEY AT THE BAT
To fill in for Schneider as bench coach, the Blue Jays promoted Casey Candaele, their Triple-A manager in Buffalo.
The 61-year-old Candaele suited up as a utility player in his first three seasons for the Montreal Expos in the late 1980s. He has worked in the Blue Jays organization since 2017.
UP NEXT
The Blue Jays begin a four-game set against the Kansas City Royals at home on Thursday, Toronto’s final games before the all-star break.
Kevin Gausman (6-6) expects to make his first start since taking a line drive off his right ankle on July 2.
The Royals haven’t named their starter for the series opener. They could be without as many as 10 players because of their unvaccinated status, including standouts Andrew Benintendi and Whit Merrifield.
