Marco Estrada settled down after a shaky first and Justin Smoak sparked the Jays’ offence in a 7-2 win.
Big night at the plate after Estrada settles in sparks eighth win in 12
Three batters into Thursday’s contest, the Mariners were already up by two runs. The way the Blue Jays’ injury list has been expanding by leaps and bounds, a cynic’s first question might have been: Will the team wait until the next day to put starter Marco Estrada on the disabled list, or would they do it right after the game?
It turned out there was no need to worry.
Estrada silenced the cynics and the Jays climbed back to win the series opener, 7-2 at the Rogers Centre. The Jays have now won eight of their last 12 games.
Estrada was asked what he was most proud of after an uneven outing in which he threw 107 pitches to get through six innings.
“How I turned things around, because that first inning was tough,” Estrada said. “I wasn’t making pitches, and I made a lot of pitches. Got hurt with a really bad pitch to (Nelson) Cruz. Even the outs were hit pretty hard. I was glad I was able to turn things around. That first inning gives me a little grief at times.”
The reliable right-hander hung tough after his slow start and regrouped, allowing four hits, three walks and just those two first-inning runs on a blast to centre field by Cruz — driving in Jean Segura, who had hustled a single into a high-bounce double leading off the game.
Just the night before, Francisco Liriano had allowed two first-inning runs, but then five more in the third. He was placed on the DL Thursday, joining fellow starters J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez.
Even with the return of Sanchez on Sunday, the Jays rotation includes reliever Joe Biagini and right-hander Mike Bolsinger, most recently with the Triple-A Bisons.
“It’s hard to go out there and pitch when there’s discomfort in your shoulder,” Liriano said a day after his injury. “It started when I pitched in Anaheim. I battled through. We just decided to give it a (10-day) breather and see how it feels.”
The Jays began their comeback in the bottom of the first. Justin Smoak ripped a single to centre field, scoring Kevin Pillar from second base. Then, after right-hander Chase de Jong — one of four replacements in the M’s rotation — had battled into the fifth nursing the one-run lead, the Jays scored five times to take control.
In the fifth, Smoak looped a tantalizing single over the leaping Segura, who was playing the shift in short centre field, scoring Pillar and Ezequiel Carrera. Steve Pearce then crushed a three-run homer off the back wall of the Jays bullpen. It was quite a night for Smoak. In the seventh inning, facing reliever Sam Gaviglio, the first baseman crushed a high fastball to deep right- centre field for his sixth home run of the year, tying Kendrys Morales for the club lead. Smoak finished 3-for-3 with four RBIs and a walk, raising his batting average to .274.
“I think it’s consistency,” Smoak said, explaining his solid start to the season. “Being in there more. Knowing you’re going to be in there when you show up to the park every day. Hopefully we can get some of these (injured) guys back as soon as possible, but at the same time we’ve got to win ballgames. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us because we have guys out. Show up every day and win a game.”
Estrada moved his record to 2-2 with a 3.12 ERA. It was his sixth quality start in eight outings. He has pitched to all four catchers who have played for the Jays in 2017.
The 33-year-old has made three starts this year at the Rogers Centre, with a 1-0 record and 0.95 ERA.
“The defence was great again,” Estrada pointed out. “Luke (Maile) called a tremendous game. He’s good back there. It’s nice pitching to him.”
The Jays have struggled to fill for injuries in the rotation, with just Estrada and Marcus Stroman able to make every start.