BRADENTON, FLA — Take that, Eric Thames.

A day after watching his chief rival for the Blue Jays starting left field job homer and single, Travis Snider went out and rapped a pair of hits of his own, drove in three and made a sparking defensive play for good measure in Toronto’s 8-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday.

Two games in, Blue Jays manager John Farrell couldn’t be more pleased with how the internal competition is playing out.

“You know what, both guys are playing well, getting their hits,” said Farrell following the game. “I thought in his third at-bat he was a little late getting started, but he has simplified his lower half and the movement that was giving him some issues a year ago,” said Farrell. “So, he’s doing a good job.”

Snider said he welcomed the opportunity to finally compete this spring…against another organization.

“Good day today. Had a variety of opportunities in the field, on the bases and at the plate, just getting out there and competing against somebody other than guys on your own team,” he said. “You go through the first two weeks and you’re just practicing … BP. It gets a little monotonous but you put the work in, get the drills done, so when game time comes, you’re able to make good decisions and get back into game shape.”

Snider made a great decision in the field in the third inning. Following a walk to Andrew McCutchen, former Blue Jays catcher Rod Barajas ripped a ball down the left-field line, advancing McCutchen to third. Perhaps expecting Snider to deliver the ball to third, Barajas tried to make it to second but was gunned down by a powerful and accurate throw by Snider.

“It was funny because he almost got thrown out at home (in the second inning) so he said something about being safe,” said Snider. “I told him he had the wind at his back and that was the only reason why he was safe.

“(In the third inning) The guys ahead of him on the bases were all burners. I knew McCutchen was going to be on third base, no problem, and Rod was going to be dumptruckin’ around first base, so I was able to backdoor him and catch him sleeping a little bit. He had a nice comment for me when I got up there the next time.”

On the mound, Aaron Laffey started and looked sharp for Toronto, scattering three hits and striking out three in two scoreless innings.

Prior to the game Farrell said in order to be successful, Laffey would need to keep the ball on the ground given his reliance on a high-80s fastball and sinker. Following the game, Farrell said he did just that.

“He’s not a power pitcher, but he showed three pitches for strikes and he went out and did his job,” said Farrell. “What we hoped to see from him.”
Laffey was followed by four Blue Jays relievers: Darren Oliver, Francisco Cordero, Casey Janssen and Sergio Santos. Each of them had one inning of work with Oliver the only one getting touched up, in his case for two runs on three hits.

The 41-year-old veteran, who was working exclusively with fastballs on Sunday, was not concerned about his performance.

“No, no,” he said. “Even during the regular season I wouldn’t. There’s going to be times when you do well, and sometimes you don’t. That’s just how baseball goes.

“I don’t take too much into it like that. I was just trying to get out there and get some action in and get the first one out of the way.”

The other veteran reliever signed by the Blue Jays in the off-season, Francisco Cordero, was thrilled to finally see his first action in a Toronto uniform.

“I was thinking about it since yesterday,” he said. “What am I going to do tomorrow? How is it going to be? I hope it’s a good inning, quick inning, get out of there and call family and say, ‘I pitched my first spring training inning with the Blue Jays. It was fun. It was quick.’

“And it was today. I know it’s early, but you want build something from the beginning and take that to the regular season and maybe play for a World Series, you never know.”

The Blue Jays are back in action Monday in Lakeland against the Detroit Tigers. Justin Verlander will start for Detroit. Henderson Alvarez for Toronto.

Farrell on starter Laffey: “upper-80s fastball, sinker, ability to spin a breaking ball. Needs to keep ball on ground to be successful.”

— Mike Cormack (@MikeCormack) March 4, 2012