BALTIMORE – Josh Donaldson will gladly take some Jose Bautista in the Toronto Blue Jays lineup rather than none.
The all-star right-fielder continues to be relegated to DH duties by a right shoulder injury he suffered April 21, something that’s forced Edwin Encarnacion to play first base regularly and kept Justin Smoak on the bench.
Still, Bautista’s bat is far too important for the lineup, and over his last 15 games, he’s batting .286/.400/.510 with six doubles, a triple, a homer and eight RBIs.
"His bat is very important to our lineup," says Donaldson. "His numbers aren’t where they want to be, but every day I see him it looks like it’s getting better and he’s having great at-bats. He’s one of those guys that’s a presence in a lineup, any time he comes up the other team knows he can leave the yard at any time."
There’s one school of thought that argues the Blue Jays might be better off putting Bautista on the disabled list and letting him resolve the injury in 15 days rather than dragging out the process. But while Bautista acknowledges playing slows down the healing process, no one wants to give up that production.
"We need him in there," manager John Gibbons says. "A little bit banged-up Bautista is better than most players in the game, so that’s part of it. He’s a team guy, the team needs him out there, and part of being a big leaguer is playing when you’re banged up, because the guys that go out there every day, they’re all banged up. That’s just part of it. It can affect you but it doesn’t mean it can stop you."
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REYES SET TO ROLL: Shortstop Jose Reyes is set to take live batting practice Wednesday for the first time since hitting the DL with a cracked rib and oblique strain, an important step in his recovery.
His goal?
"Be pain free," he says laughing. "Just try to hit the ball to every part of the field. Before I had a little trouble hitting the ball the other way, that’s when I had a lot of problems. I’m looking forward to doing that and being pain-free. If I’m able to do that I’ll be fine."
To this point Reyes has only hit off a tee and taken flips.
"I feel it on a couple of swings because the fracture is still there, for sure I’m going to feel something," he says, "but it’s better than I expected."
Two or three successful BP sessions should have him ready for a rehab assignment.
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SAVING BUEHRLE: Mark Buehrle left Tuesday’s 10-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles after six innings and only 78 pitches, the second straight start in which he’s come out with a relatively low pitch count.
"Gibby told me that if we take the lead, you’re going to be done," says Buehrle, who got through six with the score tied 2-2 before the Blue Jays went ahead in the seventh. "Once we went up by four I looked at him and said, ‘Hey, we’re up by four, let me go back out there.’ But by that time (Roberto) Osuna was ready and you don’t want to waste him for a day so bring him in."
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GREEN LIGHT: Josh Donaldson knocked in the go-ahead run Tuesday with a single in the seventh, sending a chopper up the middle on a 3-0 Chris Tillman offering. Often times batters are told to take 3-0, but Blue Jays manager John Gibbons sees lots of benefits by letting his guys rip in that count.
"We give most of those guys in the middle of the lineup (the green light 3-0), depending on the score," he says. "If you’re down a bunch and you need base-runners you don’t do it, but if you have a chance, especially in these ballparks that we play in, these guys can strike and hit some home runs. It could work to your advantage, too. They see it enough, later they’re a little more careful, that might end drawing a walk, things like that. Those guys are paid for that reason, to drive in runs, sometimes that 3-0 is a pretty good pitch to hit."
Donaldson says it’s important not to try and overdo it at 3-0.
"I’m just looking for a pitch I can hit," he says. "That’s not necessarily what I was planning to do with it, hit a groundball up the middle, but I’ll take it every time. That being said, 3-0 you kind of get caught up sometimes trying to do too much, and I want to continue to be myself as a hitter, look to drive the pitch, but at the same time not try to do so much where I’m popping it up and making an easy out."
