THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Logic says the Toronto Blue Jays simply can’t keep on hitting home runs at their current pace. At some point, history would seem to suggest, they’re going to slow down.
But then you look at who has done most of the damage for them this season, and the possibility that the barrage could go on seems much more realistic. After all, Aaron Hill, Adam Lind and Lyle Overbay have yet to hit their stride, and the track record suggests they eventually will.
So, while it’s unlikely the Blue Jays will take another run at the club record for home runs in a single month — a record they established by hitting four more in Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles — there’s good reason to believe this offence isn’t going to fade any time soon.
"I think what’s scary is we’ve been able to put up so many runs and hit so many extra-base hits and we still have a few guys that can carry this ball club and they haven’t even gotten going yet," said Vernon Wells, who broke a 2-2 tie with a solo shot in the eighth inning. "It’s a good sign and hopefully, as it continues to warm up, those guys warm up and take this team to where it needs to be."
The long-dormant bats of Overbay and Hill showed signs of life before a sun-soaked crowd of 16,194, as the Blue Jays (29-22) once again used the long-ball to account for all of their offence.
Overbay, a lightning rod for fan frustration who declined to speak with reporters, ended an 0-for-17 drought with a solo shot in the second and added a two-run insurance blast in the eighth for his first multi-homer since Sept. 6, 2008. Hill, who broke out of a 3-for-33 rut with a homer and single Friday, added a solo shot in the sixth.
That gave the Blue Jays 50 homers in May with two games left in the month, eclipsing the previous mark of 48 established in June 2000. Hill is up to eight homers — Overbay has six, and Lind, who has yet to get locked in, sits at seven.
To this point the unlikely trio of Jose Bautista (15), Alex Gonzalez (10) and John Buck (8), along with Wells (13), have led the way.
"Guys are picking each other up, that’s how you win ball games, that’s how you’re successful throughout the season," said Hill. "During the six months, not everyone is going to be swinging it at one point or another, so it’s good to have guys picking you up."
The beneficiary of Saturday’s thunder was a dominant Brett Cecil (5-2), who won his third straight start while Kevin Gregg pitched the ninth for his 13th save. Cecil matched a career-high with eight innings, allowing just two runs on four hits, while striking out seven. He’s allowed a mere three walks in his last 21 2-3 innings.
"That’s probably a record for me," the sophomore lefty said with a grin. "I’m trying to stay locked in, being aggressive. If you’re not aggressive and (a pitch) is a little bit up, those balls get hit. If you’re aggressive and you miss up, they foul them off or they swing and miss.
"That’s the phrase for me this year, ‘just keep being aggressive."’
The same can be said for the Blue Jays offence.
Tied 2-2 in the eighth, Wells crushed a 2-2 Jason Berken (0-1) offering into the third deck in left to break the tie, and after an Alex Gonzalez single, Overbay sent Alberto Castillo’s first pitch into the right-field seats.
"They are an ambush-type team," said Orioles manager Dave Trembley. "They don’t take a whole lot, they don’t walk a whole lot. They go up there looking to swing.
"If you make mistakes, they don’t foul them straight back, they hit them."
Hill’s homer on the first pitch of the sixth tied the game 2-2 and destroyed the little bit of spirit the lethargic Orioles (15-35) had shown. Not even a nice effort by top prospect Chris Tillman — making his season debut — could give them any prolonged life as they lost their fourth straight.
"It’s kind of live by the sword, die by the sword type of thing, we get ourselves into trouble doing that as well," Hill said of the Blue Jays’ approach. "At the same time, if everybody’s swinging at the first pitch and it’s their pitch, someone is going to run into one and change the game."
Cecil diced up his first 17 batters, allowing only a single while facing the minimum number of batters, but briefly lost his way after Cesar Izturis doubled with two out in the sixth.
Julio Lugo snuck a single through the hole at short to tie the game at 1-1 and took second when left-fielder Fred Lewis unwisely tried to throw Izturis out at home. He wasn’t even close, and Lugo took second on the play, scoring moments later when Nick Markakis squirted another grounder into left.
The 23-year-old lefty made sure things didn’t get away from him, even after an Edwin Encarnacion throwing error on a Ty Wigginton error extended the inning. He fought back to strike out Miguel Tejada to keep things close, and retired the next six batters before calling it a day.
"Lyle just came to me and he said, `The difference in you last year and this year is that you gave up two runs and you came in like nothing was wrong, stay right there,"’ said Cecil. "That’s a big deal to me when you have veteran guys coming up to you and saying that kind of stuff."
Tillman, one of the key pieces Baltimore picked up from Seattle in the February 2008 Erik Bedard deal, was similarly effective while on the mound, touched only for Overbay’s blast to centre.
He allowed six hits and two walks in his 5 2-3 innings, striking out three.
Notes: Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston held a lengthy pre-game chat in his office with GM Alex Anthopoulos and pitching coach Bruce Walton before the game, kicking around the pitching rotation for the next month. They need a starter for Tuesday, although a series of June off-days means they could go with a four-man staff. Brian Tallet, thought to be the likely candidate to make the start now that he’s eligible to come off the DL, is slated to start Sunday for triple-A Las Vegas. If he makes that outing, a starting assignment Tuesday may be tough to swing. Brad Mills, another candidate, is set to go Monday and could be pushed back, while Mark Rzepczynski was to pitch Saturday night. … The Orioles sent pitcher Cla Meredith to triple-A Norfolk to make room for Tillman.
