SAFE AND SOUND
Devon Travis snaps out of an early-season funk to help the Jays beat the Angels,
Maybe the Blue Jays need to be obnoxious in order to be good. To be hated by an opponent is probably a better reaction than apathy.
It’s tough to get fired up playing for a team with the worst record in baseball, but when Marcus Stroman recorded the final out in a 6-2 win over the Angels on Sunday, he leaped and pranced, fist-pumped and leg-dragged, turning briefly towards the home dugout even though none of his teammates were in that direction. Albert Pujols noticed, stepping out onto the grass as he and his teammates watched the full conclusion of the Stro show before heading up the tunnel.
“I just think it’s a big game for us, man,” Stroman said. “We’re struggling . . . so any win that we can get . . . I think that’s where the emotion comes from. I’m an emotional guy to begin with.”
While nobody wants to curb his enthusiasm, floor exercises in front of the mound seem to be the pitching equivalent of the bat flip in the minds of traditionalists. Stroman noticed the Angels’ reaction.
“I did and I’m going to talk to Pujols,” Stroman said. “(I have) a lot of respect for that guy. (I’ve talked) to him a few times in the past. I understand things could have got skewed a bit, but I love Pujols. I’m sure I’ll talk to him soon, clear things up.”
For seven innings, the Jays seemed to be on their way to wasting another quality start. But in the top of the eighth, with the Jays down 1-0, the slumping Devon Travis snapped out of his early-season funk with the key hit of a four-run rally. The Jays’ 26-year-old second baseman spun on a Deolis Guerra breaking ball, slamming a two-run homer into the seats above the Angels’ bullpen in left. It was his first extra-base hit of the season and his first home run since Oct. 2. An out later, Kevin Pillar connected for his third homer of the season, and a single by Kendrys Morales added a fourth run.
“That felt good,” Travis understated. “The biggest thing is Stro’s out there, dealing, under 100 pitches, and it was just time for the offence to wake up a little bit. I’m just thank- ful it worked out the way it did.”
The Jays completed the scoring in the ninth inning on a Travis double and a towering two-run blast to right field by Ryan Goins, who also contributed with the glove, starting the game with a stunning dive up the middle to rob Kole Calhoun and making another big play on Mike Trout in the ninth.
“Goins is unbelievable,” Stroman said. “I truly believe he is one of the best, if not the best, defensive individuals in all of baseball. And you’re starting to see some of the things he can do with the bat. Obviously it’s hard to replace Tulo. He’s unbelievable, perennial all star . . . but Go-Go, I have a lot of confidence in him going in there and doing the job while Tulo is out.”
The 26-year-old right-hander went the distance for the second time this season, giving him the American League lead, allowing seven hits with one walk and five strikeouts. He has two of the Jays’ five wins this month.
“That’s why I work as hard as I do, why I put that extra amount of work in between starts,” Stroman said. “I think it’s good for my guys. It gives our bullpen a day off and helps guys rejuvenate down there. I think it gives our offence a little more motivation going deep.
“That’s my goal each and every time.”
The first run he allowed should come with an asterisk. In the third inning, with two outs and with a 3-1 count to Calhoun, home plate umpire Ramon De Jesus called a quickpitch ball four on Stroman after Calhoun turned after the called strike and complained vehemently.
There is a Rule 6.02 (a) (5) that states a quick pitch, as ruled by the umpire, shall be a balk with runners on base and a ball with nobody on. But anyone that has seen Stroman pitch over the last year knows that he has added deception and hesitation to his windup, and that includes speeding up and balancing to slow it down. But De Jesus stuck to his call and manager John Gibbons came out and was ejected. Stroman was visibly upset and had to be restrained by catcher Russell Martin.
“I didn’t really get an explanation as to why I couldn’t do it,” Stroman said. “That’s the only thing why I was a little upset. It’s tough. I’ve got a lot of guys around me who know I’m pretty emotional and who help calm me down, Russell (Martin) being huge for me. I’m able to take deep breaths, put my mind where it needs to be and then approach the next batter.”
A rattled Stroman gave up a linedrive single to Mike Trout and a hard single to centre by Pujols that gave the Angels the lead.
De Jesus has been central to a Blue Jays controversy before.
It was in Cleveland on Aug. 22, 2016 when the funky-delivering Mike Clevinger came into a game in relief of Corey Kluber with the bases loaded and a one-run lead in the seventh inning. Clevinger, with the bases empty, features a three-rock, three-foot-tap windup. But he used that delivery with Edwin Encarnacion at the plate and the bases loaded.
For three pitches, Gibbons and the Jays wanted a balk called. On the fourth pitch, as Clevinger began his windup, third base umpire Greg Gibson called a balk. But De Jesus waved the runner back to third base, saying that time was out. Gibbons argued, and the umpires gave Clevinger a quick seminar on what he could not do. He struck out Encarnacion. Gibbons remembered.