Pearce finding his ‘comfort zone’
BOSTON Before the calf injury that sent him to the disabled list back in May, Steve Pearce was struggling to get settled with his new team.
A slow start to the pre-season because of off-season elbow surgery was part of it for the Blue Jays’ utility fielder, but he never found momentum in the early going of the regular schedule, either.
Before the injury that kept him out of the lineup for 27 games, Pearce was batting .205 with six extra-base hits. Since returning to the lineup on June 15, Pearce is hitting .375 with seven extrabase hits, including a solo home run in Monday’s 4-3 win over the Red Sox.
“I’m just finding a comfort zone, that’s really it,” Pearce said of his recent surge at the plate. “Mechanically, you can do whatever you want but when you feel comfortable, you can almost find a way to slow the game down.”
Jays manager John Gibbons said that Pearce is just now starting to realize the potential the club saw in him when he was a free-agent signee last November.
“What happened to him was what happens to a lot of guys when they go to a new spot,” Gibbons said.
“You want to do well. You press and that was affecting him. Then he had the calf issue.
“It just like he’s settled in. He looks like those years watching him play for Baltimore. I think he’s a little more disciplined now. He’s still aggressive, but he’s swinging at good pitches.”
HAPP-Y DAYS
Like many of his teammates, Tuesday’s starter J.A. Happ has been getting some prominent traction as possible trade material for the Jays.
The 20-game winner from 2016 has rounded into form recently after an early-season stint on the DL. While Gibbons sees the appeal other teams would see in Happ, he doesn’t see the sense in the Jays moving him.
“Really, he’s turned into one of the better pitchers in the league in the last couple of years in my opinion,” Gibbons said. “I don’t get involved in it, but he’d be a tough guy to trade. I’m sure teams want him, but for your own well being you’d (like to have him).”
QUICK HITS
Francisco Liriano threw a bullpen session before batting practice on Tuesday afternoon and came out of it feeling strong and not bothered by the neck issues that forced him out of Saturday ’s game in Detroit. With that in mind, Gibbons expects him to be good to go for Thursday’s finale of the Red Sox series ... Also, reliever Joe Smith had another solid rehab effort with the Bisons and could be here to rejoin the bullpen as early as Wednesday . ... Heading into Tuesday’s game, the Jays had spent 17 days tied for fourth in the AL East and 90 days in solo fifth. They’ve yet to be any better than tied for last in the division.