KANSAS CITY — Managing just three hits while staggering through a 5-0 shutout at the hands of the Kansas City Royals in Game 1 of the ALCS is concerning, sure. But for Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, the concerns run deeper than that.
For starters, designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion left the game after three at-bats to have X-rays on a nagging finger injury that has limited him on a number of occasions this season. The finger at issue is the middle one on his left hand, and while X-rays came back negative, Encarnacion is still fighting through a ligament sprain in the finger that was causing him quite a bit of discomfort at the plate Friday night.
Encarnacion first suffered the injury in July when he jammed his finger on a swing, and it’s nagged at him ever since, forcing him out of the lineup for a game or two on several occasions to help get it back to a place where he can perform. A telltale sign that Encarnacion is being bothered by the injury is when he starts taking his left hand off the bat during his swing, resulting in an awkward right-handed follow-through.
“It swelled up a little bit more than we’ve seen it in the past—it did that early in the game,” Gibbons said. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow. Hopefully he can go. Usually within a day or two it calms down on him and he’s able to get through it. We’ll see. It’s an early game tomorrow, hopefully he’ll be ready to go.”
The finger hasn’t impeded Encarnacion’s production throughout the season, as he managed to maintain a 26-game hitting streak when he was first dealing with the injury this August. But Friday was a 12-degree night in Kansas City, the first true cold-weather game the Blue Jays have had to play this fall. That factor couldn’t have helped.
“The guy is a gamer; he’s got a huge heart and in order for him to come out of the game it must have been really serious,” said Blue Jays catcher Dioner Navarro. “We count on him; he knows the team counts on him. So, he’s doing everything possible to be in the lineup every day.”
“It’s definitely concerning. He’s one of our better hitters,” echoed Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. “For him to come out of the game, his finger was probably bothering him pretty good. But we’ve seen it all year and he’s responded well so hopefully he’s ready to go tomorrow.”
Tulowitzki, meanwhile, is battling his own injury as he continues to play through the cracked left scapula he suffered five weeks ago during a game against the Yankees. Tulowitzki is now 2-for-25 in the post-season and batting .080/.148/.200 after making an out in each of his four plate appearances Friday night.
The 31-year-old shortstop says he’s feeling the effects of his injury at the plate, but wouldn’t elaborate on whether there’s certain swings or areas of the strike zone that are easier or harder on him.
“It’s there. But hey, it’s no excuse. I’m out there playing so obviously I’m good enough to go,” Tulowitzki said. “I just have to go out there and battle.”
Tulowitzki had an opportunity to leave a major mark on Friday night’s game in the sixth inning, when he came up with two men on and two outs, and his team down by three. Royals starter Edinson Volquez was over 100 pitches on the night and threw Tulowitzki nothing but fastballs and sinkers at 96 mph. Tulowitzki saw seven pitches in his at-bat, but only swung at one: a sinker down in the zone that he fouled off. He didn’t swing at two pitches that were over the plate and up in the zone, including the final pitch of the at-bat which sealed his strike out.
“[Volquez] was obviously real good. I think his velocity was a little higher than it normally is. He was hitting his spots. He did a good job,” Tulowitzki said. “He made a pitch 3-2 that caught the outside part of the plate. That’s part of what I was saying—he made pitches when he needed to.”
Of course, if it weren’t for Tulowitzki, the Blue Jays likely wouldn’t be in the ALCS today. His three-run homer off Chi Chi Gonzalez in Game 3 of the ALDS—on a changeup down in the zone—single-handedly won that game and kept the Blue Jays’ post-season alive. He’s also seeing plenty of pitches during his at-bats, averaging 3.63 per plate appearance coming into Friday night’s game, good for third on the team.
But outside of the homer in Texas, the results simply haven’t been there, and one has to wonder how much Tulowitzki’s shoulder is limiting his ability to perform.
“I know it still bothers him. But he’s good enough to play and he wants to play and he’s gutting it out at this time of year,” Gibbons said. “I tip my hat to him. He’s been struggling with that a bit. He had a big hit down in Texas to get us here. But we can’t focus on him tonight, because everybody got shut down.”