Blue Jays’ Travis eager to knuckle down today
With hand no longer ailing, second baseman targets toppling of Twins
The end of the Devon Travis absence from the lineup is in sight.
The second baseman with the ailing knuckle on his right hand assured one and all, and was backed up by his manager, that he would be back in the lineup for today’s game against the Minnesota Twins.
Travis expected his absence would last only a game, but it’s four games later and he’s just now swinging a bat again.
“Yup, swung today for the first time and it actually felt pretty good,” he said. “It was encouraging for sure.”
Travis was also running the outfield earlier in the afternoon, another sign his return is imminent.
“I needed to sweat,” he said, smiling. “I was feeling like a loser. It was nice to get out there and feel like an athlete again.”
Travis admitted he could have been in the lineup Friday night and made a half-hearted attempt to convince his manager that would be the move to make, but manager John Gibbons erred on the side of caution and decided to give him one more day. Travis took it in stride. “The whole game of baseball is your hands,” Travis said. “Thank God it’s my top hand because if it was my bottom hand it would probably be a little bit tougher getting going again.
STILL OUT
Outfielder Michael Saunders also got another day to let his hamstrings heal after they tightened up on him Wednesday night.
Melvin Upton Jr. took his spot in left while Jose Bautista returned to his regular role in right field.
Gibbons also took the opportunity to get Edwin Encarnacion a bit of a break Friday night by putting him in the DH spot and starting Justin Smoak at first.
About an hour before game time came word that centre-fielder Kevin Pillar was dealing with flu-like symptoms and was scratched.
His place in the lineup was taken by Ezequiel Carrera, who took over in left for Upton, who moved over to centre.
THE CAN’T- MISS KID
Catcher Russell Martin may not get the attention that the likes of Josh Donaldson, Encarnacion and some of the other thumpers in the Jays’ lineup get, but he’s likely the one man on the roster the Jays can least afford to lose.
It’s a combination of what the Jays have in terms of depth at the catching position and all the things Martin does. Right now he’s the hot Blue Jay with the bat.
But there’s also all the things he does behind the plate that have helped a starting staff that was a question mark at the beginning of the year become one of the Jays’ biggest strengths.
“When a pitching staff has a good year, the role the catcher plays can often get overlooked,” Gibbons said of Martin.
Then there’s the durability Martin brings.
He gets beat up as much as anyone on the roster, but he’s appeared in 105 games.
Take away the R.A. Dickey starts that come with Josh Thole behind the plate, and the day games after night games when catchers normally get a rest, and Martin has been as rock steady as anybody.
“You can’t afford to lose him, no doubt,” Gibbons said.
For insurance, before Friday night’s game the Blue Jays welcomed back catcher Dioner Navarro, who was acquired from the Chicago White Sox for left-handed pitching prospect Colton Turner. Navarro, 32, spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Blue Jays, hitting 17 home runs with 89 RBIs in 183 games. He was batting .210 with six home runs and 32 RBIs this season.
QUICK HIT
Bautista has averaged a home run for every 8.04 at bats against the Minnesota Twins over his career. In terms of being an all-time Twins killer, that ranks Bautista alongside the likes of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Mickey Mantle over the last 100 seasons.