Bautista hurt, other Jays shoulder load
Encarnacion, Goins hit double HRs
TORONTO — In the morning, before the Blue Jays beat the Mariners 8-2, sore-shouldered Jose Bautista gave a smile of apparent resignation when asked how his daily throwing sessions were going.
“Nothing new to report,” he said.
Which, of course, suggested his shoulder was still sore. And his answer, it turned out, was not entirely accurate, since there was something new: Bautista had received a cortisone injection in that shoulder.
Cortisone is no cure-all, but it often curbs inflammation. It also typically requires two or three days to do its work, and during that period, a player cannot play.
Nothing is definite — nothing ever seems to be when it comes to Blue Jays injuries — but that could mean Bautista will miss the next two games against the White Sox, and maybe all three games in that series at the Rogers Centre.
After the game, manager John Gibbons said he wasn’t certain whether Bautista would even miss Monday night’s game. Asked about the timing of the cortisone shot after a month of soreness, Gibbons replied: “He’d probably give you a better answer to that than I would.”
Bautista was unavailable for comment after the game. He sent word that he would address the media about his status on Monday.
Having decided to see whether cortisone would help, Bautista was out of the lineup against Seattle, but two home-run heroes stepped up, one of whom — Ryan Goins — is a most unlikely power source. The other, Edwin Encarnacion, does this sort of thing all the time, especially in May.
Both hit two-run shots in the fifth inning off Taijuan Walker. For Goins, it was his first; for Encarnacion, his 12th. That proved sufficient tonnage for the Jays to salvage one win in the threegame series.
Since April 21, when Bautista made an ill-advised throw trying to nail a Baltimore runner at first base, he has been unable to play right field because he cannot throw. As a result, he has been confined to DH duty.
His shoulder had been sore before he made that throw. He admitted he threw the ball with extra force, partly out of revenge for an Orioles pitcher throwing behind his head. He already had exacted retribution with a home run, but he was trying to rub it in, and later he had to admit, “That wasn’t the smartest thing to do.” He has been productive, reaching base in 20 of 22 games in May and batting .261 with an .861 OPS.