Jays notebook: Bautista drops in the order, Encarnacion keeps producing, and Grilli hits a rough patch
NEW YORK— For the 15th time in his career, but just the second time since 2014, Jose Bautista hit in the fourth spot in the Blue Jays’ batting order in Wednesday’s series finale against the Yankees. It marked just the 11th time since 2010 that Bautista started a game hitting lower than third.
The Jays have used seven different hitters this season in the cleanup spot, which has most often been the domain of Edwin Encarnacion. Michael Saunders, Russell Martin, Troy Tulowitzki, Justin Smoak, Dioner Navarro and Melvin Upton Jr. have all made starts there.
Bautista, a pending free agent, has battled injuries this season and has seen declines in most of his offensive numbers. But he’s still drawing walks and hitting homers at a decent clip, which have made him a productive hitter despite his sub-par batting average.
WALKING TALL: Josh Donaldson is hitless in his last three games heading into Wednesday night’s contest, but on Tuesday night he drew his 92nd walk of the season, which trails only Mike Trout in the American League.
Eighty-one of Donaldson’s walks have come in games he started at third base (the rest have come at designated hitter), passing Troy Glaus to set a new franchise record for single-season walks by a third baseman.
Donaldson, who has reached base in 15 straight games, leads all majorleague third baseman with a .414 on-base percentage this season, which trails only Tony Fernandez’s .433 mark, set in 1999, among Jays’ all-time third baseman.
RUN PRODUCER: Edwin Encarnacion hit his team-leading 37th home run on Tuesday night, while also driving in a pair of runs to raise his RBI total to 112 on the season, a new career high.
Encarnacion leads the American League in RBIs, while trailing only Colorado’s Nolan Arenado for the major-league lead. In the last five seasons, he has 535 RBIs, which ranks second in the majors behind Miguel Cabrera and third in Blue Jays history for any player in a five-year span.
Carlos Delgado’s 626 RBI from 1999 to 2003 is beyond Encarnacion’s reach, but he should pass George Bell’s 538, collected from 1985-1989.
Meanwhile, Encarnacion is the only major-league hitter with 30 homers and 100 RBI in four of the last five seasons.
ON THE GRILLI: Almost immediately upon his arrival from the Atlanta Braves at the beginning of June, Jason Grilli helped stabilize the Blue Jays’ bullpen by stepping into a highleverage setup role and taking over the eighth inning.
The 39-year-old righty allowed just five earned runs in his first 33 appearances. That’s what has made his last three games so startling, as Grilli has blown two leads and allowed six earned runs on three hits and three walks, including two homers.
GOOD TO GO: Francisco Liriano, who exited a relief appearance on Monday due to back tightness, is no worse for wear, manager John Gibbons said Wednesday. The 32-yearold lefty will be available to pitch out of the bullpen again in this weekend’s series against the Boston Red Sox.
Liriano may yet still make another start or two for the Jays, particularly if they skip Aaron Sanchez’s turn one more time before the end of the season. Since he was acquired at the trade deadline from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Liriano has posted a 4.38 ERA in four starts and two relief appearances, while striking out about a quarter of the batters he has faced.