It took a couple of weeks, but Kevin Pillar’s getting the offensive results he expected from the start.
Saturday’s two-hit game stands out, since Pillar hit his first home run of the season, but he also walked against Chris Archer and hit an opposite-field double, indications that his timing and pitch recognition are where he wants them to be. It’s a balancing act of laying off tough pitches early in the count and being prepared to expand the strike zone a little with two strikes.
“There’s been times that we’ve felt the zone’s been kind of big, but I made a decision a couple days ago that umpires weren’t going to affect my at-bat,” Pillar said. “I have the ability to hit pitches off the plate. There’s times I do it probably before I should, before two strikes [but] it’s never going to be an excuse for me that an umpire missed a call or a pitch was off the plate. I’m just going to try to be a tough out. Two strikes? Put it in play.”
As Pillar points out, the Blue Jays have faced a run of tough pitchers. There are no easy at-bats against Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Drew Smyly, Archer and Jake Odorizzi, the last five starters the Blue Jays have faced. Still, that doesn’t quite explain the how a team that was seventh-toughest in baseball to strike out a year ago now has more whiffs than anyone but the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres. Pillar’s plan: Continue being aggressive in the pursuit of hard contact.
“The plate’s not that big,” he said. “It can seem very big at times, but we’ve all not only hit pitches, but driven pitches off the plate or up or down. You can’t let that be an excuse. We all want to be disciplined at the plate and make the pitchers get the ball over, but at the same time we’ve got to make adjustments.”
Pillar hit just .188 with a .506 OPS in 12 games as the Blue Jays’ leadoff hitter, but he’s produced at the plate in the two weeks since, batting .354 with a .859 OPS in 13 games. It’d be dangerous to read too much into either two-week sample, but Pillar’s encouraged by his recent progress.
“I think there’ll be a time when I get the opportunity to go back up there and I’ll be even better prepared,” he said. “The majority of [struggling atop the order] was facing good pitching, inconsistency with my approach. I had some good days, I had some bad days, but there was never that level of consistency. Right now I’m feeling a lot more consistent.”
IMPROVED ROTATION: The Blue Jays return to Toronto with a rotation ERA of 3.68 that ranks 10th in baseball. While R.A. Dickey’s early-season struggles have continued, the other four starters have ERAs between 2.59 and 3.77.
“Shoot, they’ve been unbelievable,” manager John Gibbons said. “They really have. Every day they go out there they give us a chance to win.”
Toronto’s rotation was particularly impressive in their recent three-game series against the Rays, when Aaron Sanchez, J.A. Happ and Marcus Stroman combined to pitch 21.2 innings while allowing just four runs and striking out 22.
BARNEY DELIVERS: Darwin Barney’s pinch-hit double was a vital part of the Blue Jays’ four-run rally Sunday, and the continuation of a strong start for the utility player.
“It feels good to pull my weight a little bit, do what I can to be a piece of this puzzle,” Barney said. “I’m part of this ballclub and I’m trying to contribute when my name’s called.”
Gibbons has been impressed by Barney, who’s hitting .310 with an .823 OPS and a home run. With a lifetime OPS of .635 and a Gold Glove to his name, he’s best known for his defence, but the Blue Jays will take the big hits.
“Barney’s doing a heck of a job for us,” Gibbons said. “He hasn’t played a whole heck of a lot, but he’s an old pro; he knows how to sit around, get ready, things like that. He’s very valuable to us.”
Barney’s production gives the Blue Jays another option should they decide to give Ryan Goins (.169 average, .457 OPS) any days off.