TURNING A CORNER
Jays back up to .500 with help on the way as they prepare to face Yankees
The Blue Jays are back to even, and help is on the way.
Another brilliant pitching performance from José Berríos, and three key hits from Justin Turner, helped the Jays beat the Colorado Rockies 5-0 at the Rogers Centre on Sunday and got them to 8-8 on the season. They rebounded from Friday night’s ugly 12-4 loss to win the three-game series.
Berríos threw seven innings of two-hit shutout, walking two and striking out seven. The right-hander improved to 3-0 and dropped his ERA to a sparkling 1.05, while Turner pushed his on-base plus slugging mark to 1.095.
The bearded redhead gave the Jays the lead with a two-out RBI single in the first, then added an RBI double in the third and another run-scoring safety in the fifth.
“Obviously Friday was ugly and didn’t go the way we wanted it to. But the resilience, the bounceback to go out and salvage two games, I think it says a lot about the club and where we’re at,” Turner said after the game. “The offence is kind of scratching the surface. I think there’s a whole lot more in the tank, and when we get going and clicking on all cylinders it’s going to be a fun offence to be a part of.”
The Jays have scored at least four runs in six of their last eight games, after having done it only twice in the first eight.
After successfully treading water through the toughest 10 per cent of the season — 13 of their first 16 games were against projected playoff teams — they will welcome not only the New York Yankees to town starting Monday to complete their first homestand, but also three important components back to the active roster.
All-star closer Jordan Romano, catcher Danny Jansen and setup man Erik Swanson have completed rehab assignments and are expected to be activated off the injured list by Tuesday at the latest.
Jansen, who could be in the lineup Monday, went 1-for-2 at Triple-A Buffalo Sunday while catching three innings, after being behind the plate for seven innings both Thursday and Saturday. The 28year-old Jansen hit .308 over four rehab games with a double and a home run, compiling a .972 OPS. More important, his now-healed right wrist (broken when he was hit by a pitch in the spring) passed every test, including a ground ball off the end of his bat in Thursday’s game.
“It was one of those things where it’s off the end of the bat and it’s a little zinger,” Jansen said in Buffalo after that game. “It’s always a good test to have those things. I felt fine after that.”
Jansen has been called the heartbeat of the team, and his work with the pitching staff has been lauded ever since he arrived in 2018. But with fellow backstop Alejandro Kirk still looking for his first extrabase hit and only 8-for-47 to start the season, the Jays are also looking forward to the thunder in the Wisconsinite’s bat.
“I think last year he would have hit 20 homers if he would have stayed even just a little bit more healthy,” said right-hander Kevin Gausman, scheduled to face Marcus Stroman in Wednesday afternoon’s homestand finale. And he’s right.
Jansen hit a career-high 17 home runs last season despite being limited to 86 games by a groin strain and later a broken finger.
“We’re excited to have him back,” said Gausman. “He’s been a big sparkplug for us. Somebody who goes out there and can call a great game, but also has the ability to hit home runs.”
Romano and Swanson appeared with the Bisons on Thursday and Saturday and pronounced themselves healthy and ready to go. Each came up hurting about midway through spring training: Romano with elbow inflammation, Swanson with forearm tightness.
It seems odd almost three weeks into the season, but the Jays haven’t really missed the relievers. The bullpen hasn’t blown a save yet, with Chad Green and Yimi García having dominated the back end of the few tight games the Jays have played. There have only been two one-run games and just two more decided by two.
Which is not to say Swanson and Romano won’t be welcome indeed, allowing relievers Trevor Richards, Tim Mayza and Génesis Cabrera to slide back into lower-leverage spots while Garcia and Green return to earlier roles.
All hands on deck can only help with baseball’s best coming to town. Even with ace Gerrit Cole on the shelf for at least another month, the Yankees are on fire to start the season at 12-4.
Unlike the Jays, the Bronx Bombers have kept games tight. A 8-7 loss to the Guardians in Cleveland on Sunday was the seventh one-run game they’ve been involved in, and the first one they lost.
Blue Jays 5
Rockies 0