GAME CENTRE BLUE JAYS 4, ROYALS1
Bichette’s first homer powers Jays to a Royal sweep
It hasn’t taken Bo Bichette very long to make his presence felt.
Bichette capped his first series in the big leagues with yet another multi-hit effort. Toronto’s top prospect finished 3-for-5 with a solo homer, leading the Blue Jays to a 4-1 victory and a series sweep over the Royals. It was Toronto’s first sweep in a series of three or more games since April 26 to 28 vs. Oakland.
During the three-game set, Bichette finished 6-for-13 with one walk and a pair of runs. He became the fifth player in franchise history to register at least six hits in his first three career games, joining Danny Ainge (1979), Lloyd Moseby (1980), Aaron Hill (2005) and Rowdy Tellez (2018). Not bad for a debut.
It was a week of firsts for Bichette.
His first big-league hit came on a single to left on Monday night vs. Kansas City’s Brad Keller. Two days later, the first home run came on a hanging curveball from starter Jakob Junis in the top of the eighth. According to Statcast, the ball travelled 436 feet.
Mixed in throughout the week was solid defence up the middle and flashes of speed on the basepaths as the 21-year-old showcased his overall game.
Freddy Galvis also socked with a solo homer to centre, while Justin Smoak chipped in with an RBI single and Teoscar Hernandez added an RBI double. The loss went to Junis, who allowed four runs on six hits and two walks over seven-plus innings.
It was another good day for the Jays’ starting rotation. One day after right-hander Sean ReidFoley tossed five scoreless innings, Jacob Waguespack came through with a strong outing of his own. Waguespack was charged with one run on three hits over six innings en route to the first quality start of his career. Vladdy sits: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. received the day off after he went 2-for-5 with five RBIs and a grand slam on Tuesday. The break came at a rather curious time considering Guerrero was starting to heat up, with hits in each of his last four games. Sitting Guerrero runs the risk of having his bat cool off, but the Jays remain committed to periods of regular rest as recommended by the club’s high-performance department.
Up next: Right-hander Trent Thornton (3-7, 5.45) will return from the injured list when the Jays open a four-game series in Baltimore on Thursday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Thornton has been out since July 20 with right elbow inflammation. Baltimore has yet to announce its starter for the series opener.