TORONTO – The pain for Teoscar Hernandez, just beneath his left ankle bone and into the arch of his foot, is worst when he runs or quickly changes directions. He did both while chasing down Franmil Reyes’ 95.2-m.p.h. drive to the right-field corner, making a sliding catch that both ended the fourth inning and saved at least one run, followed by a long uncomfortable run back to the Toronto Blue Jays dugout, where his teammates mobbed him in appreciation.
At the plate, his discomfort is far less intense, and he avoided that whole running thing a couple of innings later by launching his 19th homer of the season, a decisive three-run drive, which allowed him to take a much less taxing trot around the bases.
In those ways, Hernandez’s impact in his return to the lineup was all over a 5-3 victory Tuesday over the Chicago Cubs, in which the Blue Jays overcame five innings of one-run ball by Marcus Stroman and continued to rebound from a dreadful weekend against the Los Angeles Angels.
The key moments were somewhat redemptive for Hernandez, who after fouling a ball off his left foot Friday night, having done it Aug. 20 against the New York Yankees as well, looked off during a defensive misplay later that game and on a Sunday baserunning blip.
He sat during Monday night’s tension-easing, 5-4, 11-inning comeback win, and after taking optional batting practice Tuesday, when he and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., each took a few explosive rips with an aluminum bat for fun, was adamant that he’d find a way to contribute.
“For me, now that I have this issue in my ankle, I’m going to give everything I’ve got and keep playing hard,” said Hernandez. “If I make mistakes, it’s not going to stop me. I’m going to keep going out there and do my best to help the team.”
He did that in a big way on another night that had the makings of a frustrating ending.
Kevin Gausman was his usual dominant self over six innings with nine strikeouts, but was victimized by solo shots from Willson Contreras in the fourth and Christopher Morel in the sixth.
The offence, meanwhile, sputtered after loading the bases with two out in the first and coming up empty on a Hernandez fielder’s choice against Stroman, the first of 10 straight batters he sat down.
Down 1-0, the Blue Jays didn’t find a breakthrough until the fifth, when Danny Jansen reached on a hit by pitch, advanced to second on a passed ball and after a George Springer walk, came around on a Guerrero RBI single up the middle.
Stroman, pitching in Toronto for the first time since his 2019 deadline trade to the New York Mets, got Lourdes Gurriel Jr., on a groundout to limit the damage there and cap a solid night of work.
After the Cubs went up 2-1, the Blue Jays took control in the bottom half, when Bo Bichette reached on a hit by pitch, reliever Brendon Little slipped trying to field Matt Chapman’s little chopper by home for a base hit and then served up Hernandez’s rocket to right.
The clubs traded runs in the seventh – Morel hit an RBI double, Guerrero ripped his 27th homer of the season – and the Blue Jays guaranteed themselves a series victory against an opponent they need to take care of, a task that can be easier said than done.
“We have to control what we can control,” said Hernandez. “At the end of the day, if we win, it’s good. But if we lose, we just have to throw that one in the trash and come with a better optimism the next day. Better focus. More energy. Try to do things differently. Put that one in the past and keep going.”
