NEW YORK – A good illustration of Jose Bautista’s evolution as a hitter this season came on milestone hit No. 1,000, an RBI double chopped down the first-base line from the once pull-oriented slugger.
The hit for the Toronto Blue Jays right-fielder, during the eighth inning of Wednesday night’s 7-3 loss to the New York Yankees, was his 15th to the opposite field this year, already well past the 11 he collected all of last season, and nearly double the eight he had in 2012, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
His spray chart this season also includes 27 hits to left field and 38 up the middle, demonstrating that while still sticking to his strengths, he is also capitalizing on what opponents are giving him when the opportunity is there.
“I think I’m more aware of some situations where people are not going to keep challenging me inside, especially when I’m behind in the count or there’s the right situation when there’s a defensive shift,” he said Thursday. “Why not try to go over there, and it ended up working out again. But the previous at bat I tried going that way and I hit into a force out. So it works sometimes, sometimes it doesn’t. I was just fortunate that in that time I got it to sneak through down the line and got an RBI and I was able to contribute at that moment.”
The contributions have come at other times, as well, and that’s what makes the adjustment preached by hitting coach Kevin Seitzer so significant. By shifting out of power mode at times and looking to sneak a ball through a hole, Bautista is making fewer outs while upping his production at the same time.
“You just weigh your pros and cons in those situations,” he explained. “That’s what Seitzer has really helped me do. I think in those situations, it’s easier for me to succeed doing this than trying to hit a home run.”
Bautista said he wasn’t aware that his double was the 1,000th hit of his career but was pleased when the ball was given to him by equipment man Jeff Ross. He views the milestone as a symbol of his extended success after some perseverance early in his career.
“The amount of time that I’ve managed to stay around and get opportunities and finally start playing good, all that stuff matters,” he said. “It’s kind of like down the same path – hitting 200 home runs, hitting a thousand hits, all that’s important. It makes me feel proud and happy about all the things that I’ve accomplished and the way the way that I’ve done it.”
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DELABAR RETURNS: On Tuesday the Blue Jays optioned reliever Steve Delabar to triple-A Buffalo because they needed room on the roster and to give the right-hander a chance to iron some things out down in the minors.
On Thursday, after a brief detour to his home in Kentucky, he rejoined the team as Brett Cecil was placed on the disabled list. Manager John Gibbons said Delabar was the obvious choice to cover for his left-hander.
“We knew, depending on Cecil, there was a chance if something happened to Cecil he might be the guy,” Gibbons said.
The move leaves the Blue Jays with just one left-hander – Aaron Loup – in the bullpen.
“Delabar’s been better against lefties, Serge (Santos) somewhat too, I think,” Gibbons said. “But that’s how it is. You’ve got (Rob) Rasmussen down there (with Buffalo), but he’s got very little experience.”
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STILL DAY-TO-DAY: Brett Lawrie was given the day off to rest the left hand struck by a pitch Wednesday, while Adam Lind missed a fourth straight game with a bone bruise atop his right foot.
Lawrie hoped to play Thursday but his hand, also struck Friday in Baltimore, was too sore.
“Lawrie’s tough, he’s mentally tough but he needs a day,” Gibbons said.
Lind continues to make progress but has yet to run. The Blue Jays won’t need the DH this weekend in Cincinnati, buying him some time to recover, and Gibbons said, “I’d be shocked if he had to go on the DL.”
“We just thought if we don’t have to lose him for those two weeks, because he’s a big part of our offence and you can tell when he’s missing, if we can cover without having to do that, that was the main thinking,” Gibbons said. “But it will free some things up this weekend.”
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SANTOS STRONG: Sergio Santos wasn’t available Thursday after pitching on back-to-back nights, and the Blue Jays were pleased with how he performed in two scoreless frames.
“Yeah, that was good to see,” Gibbons said. “The original plan before he came back, he was going to throw on that Saturday and Sunday and then we called him back. So we wanted to get him back-to-back games to see how he felt. So that was big. You won’t see him tonight but he’s looked good.”
