New & improved
Hernandez, Granderson make sure Jays don’t stray from surprisingly hot start
Predictions of a gloom and doom winter for the Blue Jays began roughly around the time the final pitch of the 2017 season was tossed at Yankee Stadium.
How was the team going to be competitive again without major changes and was Jays management willing to be active in acquiring fresh faces?
Turns out that big move may have taken place more than a month earlier when Teoscar Hernandez was acquired in a trade with the Houston Astros.
Showing yet again that he has no desire to ever return to the minors, Hernandez was an offensive force Wednesday at the Rogers Centre, helping power the Jays to a 15-5 win over the Kansas City Royals.
With a two-run homer and a two-run triple, Hernandez ended a four-hit day just a a double shy of the cycle.
He’s also doing everything in his power to never see Buffalo, home of the Jays’ triple-A affiliate, again.
“Every time I get the chance I’m trying to do my best,” said Hernandez, who has nine homers in 31 career games as a Jay. “If it happens, it happens. I can’t control that. Every time I get the chance I just try to do my best and do some damage to the other team.”
The win polished off a destructive three-game sweep over the struggling Royals, pushed the Jays winning streak to four games and improved their record to a tidy 12-5.
They’ve now won seven of their past eight home contests and will take that momentum into a four-game weekend series in New York against the Yankees.
As for the hot start, the Jays have won 12 of their first 17 contests for just the sixth time in franchise history and first since 2009.
The Jays managed a hefty 31 runs in the three games against the Royals and their 103 runs overall are one behind the Anaheim Angels for the most in MLB, prior to Wednesday night’s action.
The Hernandez assault on big-league pitching leaves the Jays with an interesting dilemma come Friday, when designated hitter Kendrys Morales is scheduled to return from the disabled list.
It’s getting nearly impossible to imagine a scenario in which the personable native of the Dominican Republic could be sent back down.
“I don’t think he could play any better,” Jays manager John Gibbons said when asked for his opinion. “That’s all I’ve got to say.”
His 4-for-6 effort on Wednesday (with four RBIs and two runs scored) continued a torrid stretch since being recalled Friday. Hernandez is hitting 8-for-19 with five extra-base hits.
Acquired in a deal last August that sent Francisco Liriano to the Astros, Hernandez was originally thought to be a depth acquisition with the potential for more. But he made an immediate impact in a September cameo, carried that through spring training and the hits just keep on coming.
GRANDER-SLAM
Hernandez wasn’t alone with the offence on Wednesday. Among the other notable efforts: The ninth grand slam of Curtis Granderson’s career to trigger a sixth-run eighth … Yangervis Solarte hit his fourth homer of the season in the third, tying him with Aledmys Diaz for the lead in that department … It was a mixed bag for Jays starter J.A. Happ. The lefty got his third win of the season and struck out eight but he also gave up five hits and four runs … The surge of backup catcher Luke Maile continues. A night after two big hits — including a walk-off, game-winning RBI in the 10th — Maile came on on as a pinch-hitter in the fifth and responded with a two-RBI single. He added another single in the seventh and came across to score as the Jays increased their lead at the time to 9-4 … An RBI-double by Kevin Pillar in the eighth gave him 3-for-4 day and extended his active hitting streak to seven games … With the series sweep over the Royals, the Jays are undefeated through their first five series of the season … Hernandez on swinging for the wall in the ninth as he attempted to hit for the cycle: “I got a lot excited, too much I think. That’s what made me strike out. I wanted it.”
MAKING HAY
The Jays have been taking care of business against lesser teams. The Royals may be atrocious, but a sweep not only gave the Jays three wins but momentum to take to New York and beyond.
The Jays are in a stretch of 22 games in 21 days, with the next seven against the Yankees and the killer-hot Red Sox.
“We’re playing good baseball,” Gibbons said. “Bottom line is we’re doing everything well. You ride that.”