TORONTO — The Blue Jays want a hero. They wanted one a month in the past, too, however purposes are nonetheless open.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. threw one other resume on the pile, hitting a three-run homer in Friday night time’s 3-0 win over the Red Sox at Rogers Centre, which jerked the Blue Jays again onto the rails after a disastrous four-game sweep by the Rangers.
“We’ve got a 15-game season right now,” supervisor John Schneider mentioned previous to the sport, the ticking clock rising louder every day.
With so little time left for the Blue Jays to vault again into an American League Wild Card spot, this isn’t about sweeping modifications or grand, philosophical shifts. They’ve had 146 video games for that. Right now, it’s concerning the two weeks which might be staring Toronto within the face, and the shortest path to the postseason is taking part in hero ball.
Granted, this isn’t the NBA. The Blue Jays can’t power the ball to their very own model of LeBron James in each large second. But from the very starting, this roster was constructed to have completely different gamers pop on any given night time.
In an ideal world, the Blue Jays can be taking part in a clear and cohesive model of baseball, the one we’ve been listening to about since they opened camp in February. That hasn’t precisely occurred, and in case you want a contemporary instance, you don’t usually want to attend lengthy.
Prior to Guerrero’s dwelling run within the third inning, Alejandro Kirk obtained a half-dozen good bounces on a check-swing flare that was bobbled and mishandled by Alex Verdugo in proper, leading to a clunky double. When Daulton Varsho — the very subsequent batter — rolled a floor ball up the center to the shortstop, although, Kirk broke for third, and it was apparent to everybody within the constructing that he was toast the second he moved. Instead of sliding, Kirk jogged previous Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers as he was tagged, sucking the air out of a constructing that was determined for one thing to cheer about.
Guerrero’s blast quickly distracted everybody from the baserunning blunder, which made it a three-run job as an alternative of a grand slam. But that inning captured such a picture of the 2023 Blue Jays. They’re good, even exhibiting glints and flashes of one thing extra, however they proceed to get in their very own approach.
Content Source: www.mlb.com