And the streak goes on
Jays crush Rangers 12-4,
ARLINGTON, TEXAS— For years, the heart of the Blue Jays order had been Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. This year the Jays added Josh Donaldson to the mix and, then at the deadline, Troy Tulowitzki. And that is making Encarnacion one of the more under-appreciated run producers in Major League Baseball. But he’s OK with that.
“I don’t care, I just try to do the best I can do to help this team to win games, no matter if they pay attention to what I do or what I don’t do,” Encarnacion said. “I just want to win games, whatever it takes. I try to do the best I can do for this team to win the games.”
Encarnacion is not alone among productive power hitters who are also under-appreciated, but he is among the ones that have been around the longest swinging the bat in that same under-theradar mode. Some others that go largely undervalued include Detroit’s J.D. Martinez, Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt, Colorado’s Nolan Arenado and Cincinnati’s Jay Bruce.
“No, he’s really under the radar,” Tulowitzki agreed after four weeks as a teammate. “Just goes about his business. I think he likes it that way. Not everybody’s the same. Some guys love the limelight. Some guys like not to talk about themselves, just about the team. Some guys talk about themselves and that’s what makes a clubhouse. He’s one of the guys doesn’t want any pats on the back.”
His home run in the opener of the Rangers series seemed to be typical Encarnacion.
The Blue Jays trailed 5-3 and his solo blast deep into the seats pulled them to within a run, setting up the ninth- inning heroics by others.
But the home run was a real key, along with airtight work from the bullpen, in the eventual win.
“He’s just plodding along, delivering,” manager John Gibbons marvelled. “I think part of that’s the big year Donaldson’s had. Even just talking about recently, Bautista’s heating up, now the addition of Tulowitzki. I think (Encarnacion) can kind of sneak by under the radar. Yeah, he has kind of gone unnoticed.”
Encarnacion entered Wednesday’s game riding a 20-game hitting streak (21, after he hit a sixth-inning grand slam) during which the team was 14-6 and he was hitting .404, with six homers and 19 RBIs. Since June 2 — which, not coincidentally, was the start of the team’s resurgence, their first 11-game win streak — he was batting .306, with 13 homers, 43 RBIs and a .964 OPS. But it’s all about team.
“You know, I’m never thinking about those kind of numbers,” Encarnacion said. “Winning games is the more important thing.
“I know if I’m doing good, if I’m doing great, the team’s going to win games because I’m hitting four and I’m going to hit a lot of times with runners in scoring position. So it’s going to be good when I’m getting hot because I’m going to help this team to win a lot of games.
“The way it’s happened the last month, the last couple of weeks, I’m feeling good, I’m feeling great, I’ve been swinging the bat good and we’ve been winning a lot of games. This team needs all 25 players on the roster and everybody is together, so I’m never thinking about, like, just my personal numbers. I’m thinking about the team.”
Encarnacion is locked in at the moment and whenever that happens, he squares up a lot of pitches. Good things happen.
Ben Revere has just arrived back in the AL. He has a clear and present respect for the Jays’ cleanup hitter and what he has been doing as the clubs’ least-known slugger.
“He may not have a high average, but he gets a bunch of RBIs and home runs,” Revere said. “But just the way he approaches the game. He’s kind of a quiet player too and helps the team out. He’s one of those leaders on this team today. He’s really fun to watch.
“Definitely when he’s zoned in he’s tough to get out. He’s spitting on bad pitches and hitting the pitches that he likes. It’s been a fun little ride since I’ve been traded over here, to watch him play.
“Actually there’s been a couple of times since I’ve been over here that I’ve called some of his home runs. I could see it in his eye and I could definitely see it in his approach at the plate and on the next pitch, I’m like he’s going to hit a home run right here and he hits one. That’s kind of the deal how a good player like himself when he’s on, he’s tough to get out.”
The Jays used to have just two huge bats in the middle of the lineup, now they have doubled that lumber total which makes them a very difficult team to count out on any night.
“It’s a deep and powerful lineup,” Tulowitzki said. “A lot of teams have deep lineups, but I think the power that all of us have at any point in time to hit the long ball — and I think that’s what we’ve done well on this road trip — it makes it that much more special, different than any other lineup.”