Big first inning helps end skid
The Ohtani show comes to Rogers Centre
It had all the makings of a smash hit — the SHO In TO.
Unfortunately, an aggressive, expensive and at times exhausting off-season pursuit of Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani didn’t work out the way the Toronto Blue Jays had hoped.
Instead, Ohtani went west to the Los Angeles Angels while the Jays had to settle for the best of the scrap heap during baseball’s winter offseason shopping spree.
The two parties got together on Tuesday at the Rogers Centre, however, with a chance to show off a little.
Ohtani did his part in batting practice with an Aaron Judge-like display in which he launched one shot that seemed destined for the dome roof and another that settled in the upper deck of right field.
And the Jays gave Ohtani a glimpse of what they are capable of when they get their act together, getting up early on the way to a 5-3 win that snapped a four-game losing streak.
With three games remaining in what had previously been a frustrating Toronto homestand, it was important to stop the bleeding after an unsightly four-game sweep at the hands of the Oakland Athletics over the weekend. One win doesn’t mean all is swell as someone other than Tuesday’s impressive winning pitcher J.A. Happ will have to come up with a quality start. But at least the Jays improved to 23-25.
The buzz surrounding the Japanese sensation has been one of baseball’s best stories through a somewhat sluggish overall start to the 2018 season. He entered Tuesday’s play with a .321 batting average and .619 slugging percentage at the plate and a 4-1 win-loss record and 3.35 ERA as a starting pitcher.
The Jays won’t see Ohtani on the mound this series, but as has been the case around MLB, fans and baseball people wanted to see first hand what the fuss was all about.
The announced crowd of 21,480 was a rare bright light in that department as Jays attendance is down on average, close to 10,000 per game.
With a day to collect themselves after one of the worst four-game home series in 17 years, the Jays came out swinging like they meant it. How much?
Well, a five-run first inning highlighted by a tworun homer from startingto-heat-up Kendrys Morales — the output was a rarity during their recent home struggles that had seen six consecutive home defeats. The five-run first matched or bettered their offensive totals for each of their past 11 home games.
Happ improved to 6-3 on the season while his ERA dropped from 4.15 to 3.97.