TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays’ ability to survive Jose Reyes’ absence depends more on their starting staff pitching to form than it does on who ends up at shortstop for the next three months.
To that end, Mark Buehrle continued a solid turn of the rotation Monday night with 6.1 innings of two-run ball in his first game against his former team, setting the tone in a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
“It was a little crazy, I tried not to take a look at too many guys stepping into the batter’s box because I knew I’d start laughing or something bad would happen,” Buehrle said of throwing to the club he spent 12 years with. “I tried to focus on the glove, which is not me, usually I’m looking around and having fun. It was different seeing the (White) Sox uniform in the batter’s box, usually it’s behind me, and its weird rooting against those guys. …
“But once we crossed the lines I’m out there trying to win just like they’re trying to beat my brains in.”
A second opinion on Reyes on Monday confirmed the dynamic shortstop won’t need surgery to repair the ankle sprain he suffered Friday in Kansas City, and GM Alex Anthopoulos said his absence is still expected to be around 12 weeks, possibly 10 or 11 if everything goes faster than anticipated.
While much of the ensuing focus has been on whether Jose Bautista should shift to third base with Brett Lawrie, who returns from the disabled list Tuesday, moving to second after playing a pair of rehab games there, the team’s biggest need is for the starters to consistently get deeper into games.
Buehrle — who lasted only 5.1 at home against Cleveland and 4.1 innings at Detroit in his first two starts, giving up 11 earned runs in the process — is key on that front.
He steadied himself after a shaky two-run first, allowing just five hits the rest of the way in his best start for the Blue Jays to this point.
“My velocity was a little (higher),” Buehrle said in comparing his stuff to Detroit last week. “The (cold) weather in Detroit, it was hard to stay loose. I’m the same pitcher no matter what team, no matter what guy is in there, just try to hit my spots, keep the ball down, when that happens good things will happen.”
Coming on the heels of R.A. Dickey’s 6.1 innings of one-run ball Saturday and Brandon Morrow’s six frames of two-run ball Sunday, perhaps things are stabilizing for the group as a whole after a terrible stretch last week in which they lasted just 14 innings over four starts.
“If our rotation starts getting on a roll the way it can, I think we’ll end up being fine,” said Anthopoulos. “We have enough offence to go around that if our rotation performs up to its ability, we’ll be right there.”
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WHERE THINGS STAND: The Blue Jays (6-7) once again climbed back within a game of .500 before a crowd 15,755, collecting a third victory in four outings. The White Sox (5-8) have lost six of their past seven. Josh Johnson takes on Dylan Axelrod in the second contest in the four-game series.
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ROSTER MOVES: Brett Lawrie is expected to make his 2013 debut Tuesday, likely at third base with Jose Bautista, back permitting, in right field.
“That’s probably the way it’s going to be,” said manager John Gibbons.
To make room on the 25-man roster, Sergio Santos was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right lower triceps strain. Right-hander Ramon Ortiz, whose contract was purchased from triple-A Buffalo earlier Monday, will fill in for him in the bullpen, taking the spot of outfielder Casper Wells, who was designated for assignment.
The Blue Jays also find out Tuesday whether or not reliever Jeremy Jeffress cleared waivers.
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THE BATS: J.P. Arencibia, batting third while Jose Bautista nursed a sore back, and Maicer Izturis homered for the Blue Jays, who used a combination of power and speed to get their runs off Gavin Floyd (0-3) in this one.
Down 2-0, Emilio Bonifacio doubled to open the first, took third on a passed ball and scored on Melky Cabrera’s fly ball to centre. Arencibia followed with his fourth of the year.
Izturis put the Blue Jays up 3-2 in the second with his second of the year, while shortstop Munenori Kawaski tripled and scored on Bonifacio’s sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Edwin Encarnacion continued to emerge from his early-season funk with three hits while Adam Lind had two hits and a walk.
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THE ARMS: Buehrle (1-0) allowed two runs on nine hits and two walks in his 6.1 innings, striking out three in his first Blue Jays victory.
The veteran left-hander came out after a one-out walk to Alejandro De Aza in the seventh, with Esmil Rogers escaping the frame with no further damage.
Rogers left with one out in the eighth, and Aaron Loup coughed up a run after hitting Adam Dunn, Dayan Viciedo’s double past Mark DeRosa at third and Alexei Ramirez’s fly ball to centre.
Casey Janssen closed things out in the ninth for his fourth save.
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NEW CULT HERO: Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said Monday that the asking price for the defensive shortstop he’s seeking to cover for Jose Reyes is too high, meaning that for now Munenori Kawasaki and Maicer Izturis will share work in the role.
The energetic Kawasaki seems to already be making fans, with the crowd chanting his name during an eighth inning at-bat. While his bat won’t make people forget Reyes any time soon, his colourful antics seems to already be a hit.
“We like what Kawasaki has done, we don’t have any illusions about what the batting average is going to be, I think the energy level he brings has been outstanding, his teammates adore him, and … the one thing you like about him is he’ll give you a good at-bat,” said Anthopoulos.
“I don’t know that he’s going to be hitting any balls over the wall, especially when you see how shallow the Royals played him in the outfield, I hadn’t seen guys play that shallow. But he grinds at-bats, the fact that he’s a contact bat allows you to do a lot of things, he can get a guy over, he can hit a sacrifice fly, he can bunt, and he can run.
For now it’s fine, we’ll watch it, we’re still actively talking to some teams, as of right now I don’t think we’re going to do anything, just off of what the asks have been on some of the players, that can change at any time, but I would expect right now it’s going to stay the way it is.”
The Blue Jays signed Kawasaki as a minor-league free agent last month and purchased his contract from triple-A Buffalo on Saturday.
Anthopoulos simply wants him to “be a pest up at the plate, foul off some balls, bunt and slash and slap the ball around, and if everyone else performs to their defensive ability we’ll be OK with it.”
