Toronto Blue Jays wrap up road swing in style
BOSTON — Chad Jenkins started his Sunday as many others did. He called his mom.
“We weren’t even talking about baseball,” he said. “I wished her happy Mother’s Day, told her I loved her. Then I hung up the phone and I was like, ‘ Oh, I have to pitch at Fenway in about three hours.’ That’s when it really hit me. I started to get a little nervous.”
It did not show. Just up from Double- A for an emergency start with the Toronto Blue Jays, the 25- year- old righthander cooled off the Boston Red Sox over five innings while his suddenly rambunctious teammates were finding Fenway’s confines friendly for a change.
By the time Jenkins left in the sixth, the Blue Jays had a 10- 1 lead. They hit five homers, including a pair by Jose Bautista, on their way to a 12- 4 victory.
The unusual rout gave them a 2- 1 series win, just their second of the year. They also posted a 4- 3 record on an eventful road trip that started in Tampa Bay and saw J. A. Happ hit in the head by a line drive, Ricky Romero sent to the minors again and three late- inning victories.
For manager John Gibbons, it was about time for a laugher. His team had played 23 games that were decided by one or two runs. Suddenly, by mid- afternoon on a sunny Sunday, they were up by nine.
“For a while there,” he said, “I didn’t know if we knew how to act.”
They figured it out. Jenkins shook off his morning jitters and pitched into the sixth inning, allowing seven hits and two runs. He had made only one start at New Hampshire after coming off the disabled list.
“That was a great game and it starts with the pitcher,” said Bautista, who now has nine homers. “He came up from Double- A and gave us a great start. It was huge for him to keep the pace of the game going, throw strikes and he kept hitters off- balance.”
Red Sox starter Ryan Dempster ( 2- 4) gave up six runs and seven hits — including three homers — in five innings, his shortest start this season. The Gibsons, B. C., native had been 6- 0 against Toronto and Montreal in his big league career.
The Toronto offence has gradually heated up in the past week, with Bautista leading the way after a sluggish start. In his past 11 games, he has hit .333, raising his season average to .246 from .195.
Winning four of seven, even on the road, is a modest achievement, but for a team that is 15- 24, it bred muchneeded optimism.
“We only played one game over .500 on the road trip, but it’s a great way to bounce back because we were playing pretty bad,” Bautista said. “It’s good to just be playing good baseball. The results are going to come just from the consistency of doing that.”
Edwin Encarnacion, Brett Lawrie and Emilio Bonifacio also hit homers. Bonifacio, who was off to a terrible start at the plate, also doubled, singled and stole a base.
Gibbons started him for the second straight day at second base. He said Bonifacio’s reputation as a “spark plug” is starting to emerge.
Both Jenkins and Friday’s starter, veteran Ramon Ortiz, were last- minute entries because Brandon Morrow’s start had to be postponed twice because of nagging back spasms.