TORONTO — As soon as the Toronto Blue Jays recorded their latest win, Ernie Clement turned his ballcap backwards and ran with high knees over to first base, where he and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. performed a lengthy choreographed handshake with gusto.
The 44,000-plus fans who’d been on their feet and losing it for much of Sunday’s game had mostly cleared out by the time Clement, standing in his blue socks in the Blue Jays clubhouse, reflected on how he got Toronto’s offence started in its second straight rout of the New York Yankees.
“I hadn’t hit a home run in a long time, so I kind of forgot what it was like,” the 29-year-old said, smiling. “And that was really, really cool. Really special.”
So cool and special that as he saw the ball travel over the left-field wall and realized it was a homer — not the sac fly he figured it would be, with Daulton Varsho on third base — Clement slowed his pace to a jog, then for a stretch ran holding both arms out horizontally.
“I don’t remember anything,” Clement said of his joyful tour of the bases, which propelled his Blue Jays to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five ALDS. “I totally blacked out. I honestly don’t know what I was doing. I looked like an idiot, but it is what it is.”
What it was exactly was Clement’s first-ever playoff hit — and what a doozy indeed. Not only did it set him up for a 3-for-4 evening, but it also kick-started a Blue Jays lineup that exploded for a whopping 13 runs, an effort that chased Yankees ace Max Fried after just three-and-change innings. The 13-7 victory puts the Blue Jays one win away from the ALCS, with Monday off ahead of Tuesday’s night’s tilt at Yankee Stadium.
“It was an all-around good day,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said, though that was a heck of an understatement when it comes to starter Trey Yesavage. The 22-year-old rookie right-hander had an outing for the ages in just his fourth MLB start with 5.1 hitless and scoreless innings while setting a franchise record for post-season strikeouts in a single outing with 11. (All Yankees damage came after Yesavage exited the game).
Offensively for the Blue Jays, it was an embarrassment of riches: five home runs, 15 hits and a 12-0 lead through five innings. Guerrero Jr. hit the first grand slam in Blue Jays post-season history. George Springer hit his 20th career dinger in the playoffs. Varsho hit two home runs and a pair of doubles, including one that turned into a triple thanks to a fielding error by Aaron Judge.
That Clement got the offence started in the second inning with what he calls “a half-swing” was fitting. He’s one of the “glue guys” on this team, as Schneider put it, and “a damn good major leaguer.” In many ways, Clement embodies the depth and versatility this Toronto team is known for. He makes great contact at the plate, and plays third, shortstop and second so well that he’s a candidate for the AL’s utility Gold Glove award.
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The Toronto Blue Jays will go for the sweep when they visit the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS on Tuesday. Catch the action on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, starting at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
After a pretty quiet playoff debut at the plate in Game 1, which saw him play both second and third base, Clement had a home run, a run-scoring double and a single on Sunday in a three-RBI performance.
The first pitch he saw was a curveball that was high enough he felt he could reach for it, with no hope initially that he’d put enough juice on it to send it the distance.
“No, god no,” Clement said, shaking his head. “I didn’t hit it hard. I was just trying to find the barrel and get in the air. I knew I didn’t have to do too much with Daulton’s speed at third.”
That ball carried 354 feet and bounced in the Blue Jays bullpen, marking the first time in nearly two months that Clement had gone yard. He hit nine this season, the last of which came on Aug. 12 against Chicago. He’d homered in each of the two games before that, too.
This latest one, of course, hit differently.
“It’s kind of what you dream about as a kid in the backyard, but usually it’s in the ninth inning when you do that kind of thing,” Clement said. “I still had a lot of game left, so I had to lock back in. I had to walk back into the clubhouse and kind of gather myself because my heart was beating so fast — I was so excited. Had to reel it back in and finish the ballgame.”
The Blue Jays flew to New York late Sunday, with Game 3 set for Tuesday night. Clement is from Rochester, and judging by the number of messages he received from back home, there could well be some Blue Jays fans in the crowd at Yankee Stadium.
“I think we’re on our way to converting quite a few people from Yankees fans into Blue Jays fans,” he said.
Certainly you can count Clement among the hype men for this team, a top-rate promoter given how he feels about his teammates and the fanbase that supports them.
“We love each other a lot, and we’re a really close group,” he said, pointing out that his favourite crowd moments at the Rogers Centre are when his team records strikeouts, “because everybody just goes absolutely bonkers.”
Clement said he can’t remember the crowd going absolutely bonkers for him after his first career playoff hit, since he blacked out as he rounded the bases. But one thing stood out clearly about the experience.
“Just glad to come through for the boys,” he said, grinning. “That was awesome.”
