TORONTO – About two weeks ago Devon Travis came to the plate after a pair of walks to start the top of the third inning, promptly hit into a double play and the Toronto Blue Jays came up empty both in the inning, and the game, losing 2-0. Asked later why he didn’t call for a sacrifice bunt, manager John Gibbons cited the pitcher’s wildness, how early it was and his preference to play for a big inning.
That’s why there’s plenty to read into the decision to go small in virtually the same situation against the same pitcher, Bryan Mitchell, during Friday night’s 9-0 victory over the New York Yankees. Rather than trying to break things open when already up 2-0 with two on and nobody out in the second, the big-blow Blue Jays opted instead to play for a single run against a shaky starter, with Travis dropping the first sacrifice bunt of his big-league career.
The shift in approach over such a short span underlines how precious runs are for the Blue Jays offence right now, and the magnitude of the moment with the finish line in sight. A year ago, no way does this team give away an out in that spot, but doing so Friday may be a concession that things need to be done differently during the current do-or-die sprint.
"Right then I thought, ‘You know what? We’re up two, let’s try to put the wood to them a little bit and get something happening,’" Gibbons said of his thinking on the play. "After Dev’s first attempt, he clutched up and got that big one down. It’s definitely a misconception that I’m anti-bunt, that’s for damn sure. There are certain times you need it and I figured at this point of the season, in that particular situation, turn it over to the big boys coming up, our RBI guys."
The Blue Jays ended up plating just one run in the second, as Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion followed with walks that pushed across a run before Jose Bautista hit into an inning-ending double play, underlining both the merits and drawbacks of trading an out for 90 feet.
Regardless, the victory kept the Blue Jays a game up on the Detroit Tigers, 8-3 winners over Kansas City, for the wild-card lead, 1.5 games clear of the Baltimore Orioles, who beat Arizona 3-2 in 12 innings. The Yankees fell five games back as their faint hopes plunged to fantasy status.
With the margins so tight, Travis realizes why he must adapt.
"This time of the year, I’m learning more and more just how much every pitch, every out, every inning and every run count," he said. "I understand down the stretch, guys on first and second, nobody out, playoff game, I’ve got to get the bunt down. It’s not something I’ve done a lot of in my career, but hitting at the top of the order with 2-7, the big dogs coming behind me, it’s something I’ve got to get better at."
The call to have Travis sacrifice didn’t happen by chance. During early work on the field, he practised dropping down bunts with first base coach Tim Leiper throwing him all kinds of tough pitches to handle.
"That’s because my arm’s lousy and I scattered the strike zone," Leiper quipped. "You can’t ever make it as realistic as the game and everyone thinks bunting is easy, and it’s a super-difficult thing, because usually you’re facing guys who are throwing 94, 95 and the ball is moving all over the place. That’s why I like throwing it as opposed to using the machine to do it, just to make it as realistic as you can. But he deserves all the credit, in a big situation like that he was able to put a perfect bunt down."
Travis had just six bunts in the minors on his way up, none since 2014.
"It’s crazy how this game works out. I was kind of hanging out and Leip’s like, ‘Let’s go get some early work in on bunting,’" said Travis. "I’ll probably be out there again (Saturday) and the next day and the next day because I understand that’s something that’s going to start coming into play a little more."
The main challenge?
"Just doing it, just the comfort of me getting the first one out of the way was probably the biggest thing," he replied. "I didn’t know that was the first sac bunt of my career but it damn sure felt like it when they put it on."
The Blue Jays did, eventually, bust this one open, tacking on four runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth once they got into the soft underbelly of the Yankees’ 14-man bullpen.
In the seventh, a two-run double by Bautista off Blake Parker made it 5-0 while Troy Tulowitzki’s second two-run single of the game made it 7-0. In the eighth with Ben Heller in, Donaldson hit his 36th homer of the season, a two-run shot, made it 9-0.
Two batters later, Heller hit Bautista in the ribs, prompting home plate umpire Tom Hallion to issue warnings to both dugouts. Nothing further developed on that front.
Tulowitzki opened the scoring in the first with a two-out, two-run single off Mitchell in the first which came after Francisco Liriano worked out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the top half by striking out Chase Headley.
After the Encarnacion walk made it 3-0 in the second, Liriano worked out of more trouble in the third after Brett Gardner reached on a Tulowitzki error and Jacoby Ellsbury singled, getting red-hot Gary Sanchez on a fly ball to centre, Billy Butler swinging and Didi Gregorious on a popper to second.
He retired nine of his final 10 batters, leaving after six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and two walks with six strikeouts.
Joaquin Benoit pitched the seventh when things were still close but Gibbons was able to rest his primary relievers after that once the game opened up. That the avalanche of runs eventually came is a good thing for the Blue Jays, but it’s more than noteworthy that before they went big, they chose to go small.
"When it comes down to these kinds of games, that’s going to be a huge part of it," said Leiper. "We were good in facets of the game last year. Devon is obviously a really, really good hitter but for him to be able to do the little things, putting guys in scoring position for JD, Edwin and Jose, as many chances as you get to do that, the odds swing drastically in our favour. It’s great that he can hit, but it’s also nice that he can set the table for three of the best hitters in the game."
Something Travis may be called upon to do more often in the games to come.
