Jays overpower Mets in historic win
NEW YORK — Steady rain at Citi Field should have made pitching, hitting and fielding challenging for everybody.
Instead, Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ had a blast doing all three.
Happ reached three times and allowed only two base runners over seven scoreless innings, and Toronto got its first road victory against the New York Mets, 12-1 on a wet Wednesday.
Happ (5-3) struck out 10 and walked none while pitching two-hit ball. The left-hander also singled twice and walked in his first multi-hit game since 2011, when he had two hits for Houston at Citi Field.
“It was just a fun game,” Happ said. “It was fun being on the bases a little bit and scoring a couple runs and pitching deep into the ballgame. Have to feel good about that one.”
The 35-year-old is the first AL pitcher to throw seven innings and match or out-hit his opponent since the Angels’ Clyde Wright against the Rangers on Sept. 14, 1972, per STATS. The AL adopted the designated hitter rule the next year.
Happ also helped himself with a sliding, barehanded play to field Luis Guillorme’s grounder in the fifth.
“He was outstanding on a tough day to play,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “Whether you’re a pitcher or anybody else. Yeah, he held it together.”
Toronto was 0-12 against the Mets in New York, the longest such skid against one team in interleague history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
New York’s Brandon Nimmo homered off Danny Barnes with two outs in the ninth and Wilmer Flores added a double before Barnes finished Toronto’s four-hitter.
Justin Smoak, Teoscar Hernandez and Richard Urena each homered and drove in three runs as Toronto piled up 15 hits. The Blue Jays had averaged 2.8 runs over their past 11 games, batting .211 with a .630 OPS while going 3-8. “One thing we can do, we can hit,” Gibbons said. “It’s been a little dry lately, but we can strike pretty quick.”
• Toronto prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had four hits for Double-A New Hampshire on Wednesday. The 19-year-old is batting .415 with seven homers in 35 games with the Fisher Cats.