TORONTO — So this is what it’s supposed to look like when a team contending for a wild-card spot faces off against what’s effectively a triple-A club.
One night after a surprising loss to the undermanned, last-place Kansas City Royals, the Blue Jays (48-43) bounced back with an 8-1 drubbing behind a strong start from Alek Manoah and three-run blasts from both Teoscar Hernandez and Matt Chapman.
The Royals (36-53) travelled to Toronto without 10 players — including outfielders Andrew Benintendi, Michael A. Taylor and Kyle Isbel — who did not meet Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. A second-straight loss for the Blue Jays would not have been a good look, especially during a week that saw the club fire its manager. However, that’s not a concern and now the club has a chance to improve to 4-1 under new bench boss John Schneider with wins on Saturday and Sunday, going into the all-star break.
Manoah, who will be headed to next week’s All-Star Game in Los Angeles, did his part on Friday night by overmatching the Royals offence. He carved up their hitters over his seven innings, striking out six and allowing just four hits and one run. The only damage against him came in the fifth frame when his errant slider hit Ryan O’Hearn, who came around to score on Nicky Lopez’s single to centre field. Following a meeting with Pete Walker, he settled down to retire the next two hitters with a strikeout and groundout.
Manoah pitched with a lead for most of the game thanks to a Blue Jays offence that attacked veteran Royals starter Zack Greinke early. Teoscar Hernandez led off the second inning with a bloop double to right field and advanced to third on Matt Chapman’s single, before scoring on a liner to centre field off the bat of Raimel Tapia. The next inning, Hernandez deposited an 87-mph cutter from Greinke over the centre-field fence for a three-run homer to push the lead to 4-0. The ball travelled 416 feet, igniting the crowd of 26,422 at Rogers Centre.
Hernandez smacked two home runs on Wednesday night and is now batting .358 (14-for-39 ) with four home runs and 11 RBIs over his past 10 games. He’s largely struggled this year on the heels of his monster 2021 campaign, however, he appears to be turning a corner now and that could bode well for a Blue Jays offensive that has been inconsistent over the past several weeks.
Chapman launched a three-run homer to the second deck in left field in the fifth inning to push the Blue Jays’ lead to 7-1. The third baseman collected three hits on a night where each starter collected at least one hit.
Contributions also came on the defensive end, too. Chapman and shortstop Bo Bichette made a pair of standout defensive plays to help Manoah, while his batterymate and fellow all-star, catcher Alejandro Kirk, called a strong game behind the plate.
Kirk was the subject of conversation prior to the game as Schneider heaped praise on him. When asked what’s stood out the most about Kirk this season, the manager responded, “A lot, but definitely how he’s gained the trust of the pitching staff. Whenever you’re bringing up a young prospect in that position, it’s really tough. I think you saw with [Gabriel Moreno] a little bit and we probably saw with [Danny Jansen] over the past couple of years up until this point. But for [Kirk] to be able to trust the game report, dissect it, communicate with [Pitching coach] Pete [Walker] and the pitchers has been, not a surprise, but just it’s been nice to see that happen pretty quickly.”
