Bautista lifts Jays over Royals
KANSAS CITY — When Blue Jays manager John Gibbons shuffled his batting order last week in Texas, he was banking on having himself a new leading man.
And based on his performance Sunday at Kauffman Stadium, veteran Jays right fielder Jose Bautista was just that for a Jays team in desperate need of on offensive boost.
Shaking off the boos that greeted him every time he approached the plate, Bautista had four RBIs in the Jays 8-2 win over the Royals. And with that big afternoon, he reached 736 career RBI with the Jays, tying him with Joe Carter for fourth alltime in club history.
The Jays needed a big effort from somebody in the lineup to avoid being swept by the Royals and ending a seven-game road trip with a four-game losing streak.
Instead, they road Bautista’s bat and took advantage of some dodgy Royals pitching and defence with a five-run sixth inning to break the game open.
Left-hander Francisco Liriano gave the Jays another solid outing from a starter, going six innings (plus two batters) and allowing two runs on six hits. With the win, Liriano improved his record to 4-3 on the season and after a couple of attempts, finally got career victory 100.
Bautista has certainly thrived since moving to the leadoff spot. He entered Sunday’s game batting .375 in his four contests at that spot thus far this season.
With his team trailing 2-0, Bautista got the offence rolling in the fifth with a two-run blast to left field, a shot that was measured at 450 feet. It was Bautista’s 13th homer of the season and seventh with runners in scoring position, but he was just getting started.
After a leadoff single by Darwin Barney in the sixth, Kevin Pillar and Steve Pearce each drew walks to load the bases. That set the stage for Bautista’s third RBI of the day when he also walked. It was Bautista’s team-leading 44th walk, two shy of AL leader and former teammate, Edwin Encarnacion.
And Bautista then drove in a run for a third consecutive inning when a single scored Pillar from second.
With his 736 RBI as a Jay, Bautista is now just four shy of George Bell for third on the all-time list. Carlos Delgado (1,058) and Vernon Wells (813) are the top two.
When Gibbons moved Bautista to the top of the order, essentially he was hoping to shake up a Jays offence that wasn’t generating many runs beyond homers. Bautista spent a portion of last season at the top of the order, again having some success. In fact, in his 45 games batting leadoff over the last two years, the Jays have a record of 27-18 as opposed to 98-94 when batting at any other position over that span.
The win improved the Jays record to 36-39 as they head home for an off day on Monday followed by a six game home stand with three each against division rivals Baltimore and Boston.
OSUNA THE BETTER?
A day after revealing he’s been bothered by anxiety issues which kept him out of Friday’s dramatic ninth-inning collapse and loss here, Roberto Osuna returned to action on Sunday.
With the team leading 8-2, Osuna pitched the ninth, his first game action since Wednesday in Arlington, Tex. After striking out Salvador Perez and Cheslor Cuthbert, Osuna allowed an infield hit to Alcides Escobar. He left with no damage however after he struck out Ramon Torres to send the game.
Though not a save situation, Osuna is currently on an 18-game streak of consecutive saves, tied for fourth longest in club history.