Encarnacion slams door on Orioles
Grand slam in sixth pushes score to 12-6
TORONTO —The eyes of baseball were focused on Toronto, for reasons having nothing to do with the local team. If outsiders stuck around, their impressions might have reminded them of the pre-season chatter about the Blue Jays.
This was the big-league debut of Baltimore pitcher Kevin Gausman, drafted less than a year ago, up from Double-A and heralded as one of the game’s brightest prospects.
He worked five decent innings, scuffling by the end, and left trailing 4-3 after holding a 3-0 lead. For those focused primarily on the home side, that comeback was heartening.
But what happened later was too, and perhaps even more so. The Jays’ offence, dormant just a few weeks ago, made the Orioles pay for a series of mistakes by delivering clutch hits en route to a 12-6 win.
Case in point: Three walks in the sixth set up Edwin Encarnacion’s grand-slam homer. And this too: After Baltimore cut the lead to 8-6 in the eighth, the Jays snapped back with four runs, aided by an error and passed ball on which Anthony Gose scored – from second base.
When the Jays were scuffling, comebacks and add-on runs were rare. No one was hitting. Recently, however, hitters are starting to take turns and sharing the load.
On Wednesday, Jose Bautista hit two homers and drove in all four runs in a win over Tampa Bay. On Thursday, four different players drove in runs, with J.P. Arencibia accounting for four on his own. Two came on a homer off Gausman that gave Toronto its first lead at 4-3 in the fifth.
“You look at a game like (Wednesday). Jose pretty much won the game for us,” Arencibia said. “And then you come back and different guys contribute today. So I think that’s a sign of when things get going.”
And when the Jays squeeze out at least five runs, they are 15-0. They are still seven games under .500, but they have won seven of their past 10 games.
“We’ve been on a nice little bit of a roll, playing some pretty good baseball,” manager John Gibbons said.
Nolin set for debut
On Friday night, another pitching prospect will make his major-league debut, this time for the home side. Sean Nolin will also come up from Double-A after posting a 2-0 record and 1.17 ERA in three starts at New Hampshire.
The 23-year-old lefty will join a scrambling Jays’ rotation that, for the time being at least, also retains Chad Jenkins, himself recently promoted from Double-A. Jenkins is scheduled to start Sunday, displacing Ramon Ortiz, who turned 40 Thursday.
General manager Alex Anthopoulos had strongly hinted
“We’ve been on a nice little bit of a roll, playing some pretty good baseball.”
JOHN GIBBONS
at Nolin’s imminent arrival a few weeks ago. Nolin missed the first month of the season with a groin injury, but came on strong in his first start, just as injuries were rattling the big-league rotation.
The Jays need to make room on the roster for Nolin and were expected to designate Ortiz for assignment, despite the fact that he pitched well in two of his three starts after an emergency call-up from Buffalo.
Speaking of Nolin, a sixthround draft pick in 2010, Gibbons said: “He’s got the stuff to do it. You never know for sure how somebody’s going to react but he’s a very mature kid. He carries himself well. We like him.”
Between this year and last, Nolin has made just six starts at Double-A, albeit with a 1.19 ERA and 34 strikeouts and 11 walks in 30 1/3 innings.
He arrived after the game and was given Ricky Romero’s old locker. His parents are making the 10-hour drive from Long Island to watch his debut.
Arencibia’s advice to the rookie: “The biggest thing is to know that you’re here for a reason. You belong here.”