Bautista busts all moves Jays need against Royals
In that languid shoot-the-breeze manner that is so charming a part of baseball, conversation in the visiting manager’s office had turned to the subject of Dancing With The Stars. And who might be the first Blue Jay invited onto the TV contest, which often features celebrity athletes?
“Got to be Jose, doesn’t it?” John Gibbons opined promptly.
This reporter recalls a chat with Bautista from way back, when he boasted about his bust-a-move dance floor bona fides.
Let’s just say the franchise slugger is one smooth dude. Agility which, of late, he’s been showing off with defensive finesse afield and, on Sunday afternoon, an astute eye for timing at the plate.
Bautista homered, singled, drew a bases-loaded walk, made a couple of fine running catches in right field, and finished with four RBIs — matching his total from the previous 24 games combined and tying Joe Carter for fourth all-time in club history.
“I’ve been with Jose a while now,” Gibbons was saying after Toronto dumped the Royals 8-2 to salvage something out of their weekend series, going 3-4 on the just concluded road trip.
“He’s been one of the most feared hitters in baseball for a number of years and always been a clutch performer.
“Not without controversy. Around the league he’s a villain. But when you know him on your team, you view it totally differently. A lot of that is, he’s burned so many teams. That’s why they dislike him so much.
“But it’s a great honour,” Gibbons said of Bautista’s assault on the franchise record book, now barely trailing George Bell for runs batted in. “He’ll keep climbing that ladder and it’s pretty good company.”
The Jays, of course, keep stumbling on the ladder rungs in the American League East, three games below .500, with a batch of division series coming up and then a pre-allstar break confrontation with ferocious Houston.
But, led by Bautista and bolstered by the six-hit work of Francisco Liriano, who earned his 100th career win, the Jays put the boot to Kansas City, halting a three-game losing streak.
“I didn’t even know,” Bautista said of the RBI laurels. “I found out after the game. I’m not thinking about that sort of stuff right now. I’m just trying to help us win games. I think that’s what everybody’s trying to do and I’m no different. I’ll get to enjoy those things in the off-season.”
He wasn’t particularly impressed with his catching feats either, which included racing miles for a fly ball out in foul territory.
“I don’t feel they were crazy good plays. Just the body’s feeling good,” Bautista said. “Trying to run those balls down and be ready for the guys. I just felt like I could get to those balls and I went after them.’’
The 36-year-old, who’s been languishing through a poor offensive June, cranked a 3-0 fastball from Kansas City starter Jason Hammel into the grassy knoll next to the fountain in left field, a two-run shot that tied the score in the fifth inning. It was his 13th round-tripper.
“I’m looking for a fastball in the zone. It’s a feel thing. If you feel like the ball’s going to end up in the zone, you try to go after it. That’s what I did. Lucky enough he put one right there on the tee for me, fastball middle-middle up. I’m sure he wants that one back. Sometimes pitchers make mistakes and that was one of those moments.”
Toronto cracked the game wide open in the sixth frame, striking for five runs on just two hits off a trio of Kansas relievers. Darwin Barney, pinch-hitting for Dwight Smith Jr., got the fun rolling with a knubber through the gap, followed by three straight walks, an error and a Josh Donaldson double. One of those walks, to Bautista by sidewinder Peter Moylan — who would be simultaneously given the hook and ejected for arguing ball and strike calls — brought in Barney, handing Toronto the lead. And off they went, racking up four more runs via patience and small ball.
“I faced him the other night with runners in scoring position and he didn’t really give me anything good to hit,” said Bautista. “I kind of got a little anxious and struck out on balls that weren’t in the zone. Today I was a little bit more patient and had a little bit of luck going my way. Just managed to walk. Again, any way that I can contribute, I’ll take it.”
Bautista has been inserted into the leadoff spot since midway through the previous series against the Rangers, drawing a couple of walks to start games.
“Generally, he’s always been a high on-base guy,” noted Gibbons. “He draws a lot of walks and he’s dangerous when he’s hitting. He had a nice big day, which we needed. He strikes fear into pitches.
“Sometimes you hope you can take advantage of that situation. I know that really worked for us last year, the way we were running with Bautista, Donaldson and Eddie.” Encarnacion, that Eddie.
It was a tidy outing for Liriano, now 4-3 and often the beneficiary of lively offence, unlike so many of his starting brethren this season. He gave up a first-inning home run to rookie Jorge Bonifacio, who would score both runs for the home side, his second resulting from a leadoff double in the fourth.
“It’s still early in the game,” Liriano said of shaking off the homer. “You can’t get bothered so early. Just try to keep your team in the ball game and make your pitches.”
The lefty threw strikes early in the count, displaying fastball command, which certainly comes and goes for Liriano. He was particularly thrilled about that reaching 100 wins.
“It feels like I’ve had to battle through a lot, going through a lot of stuff and being injured a lot, to get to 100 wins. I’m very happy.”
By the way, a reporter asked Bautista later if he would be interested in taking a competitive twirl DWTS.
“I don’t know about that. Probably not. Nah, I don’t think it’s my style.”
To which, Donaldson chirped: “He’s more of an exotic dancer.”