With the Toronto Blue Jays opening up a three-game series in San Francisco Monday night to play the Giants, they had to play by National League rules for the first time this season.
For Blue Jays watchers not used to seeing how things work on the other side of the major leagues, it had to look awfully strange to see a pitcher grab a bat and take a hack or two, but that wasn’t the only NL-specific thing about the game.
The fact that the pitcher has to hit has much more influence over the way the game is played than just his at-bats, though the pitcher does have an opportunity to contribute directly at those times.
Aaron Sanchez had such a chance in the fourth inning when he came to the plate with Ryan Goins having singled ahead of him with one out. Sanchez, who was a shortstop in high school, was asked to bunt Goins over and couldn’t do it.
Even though Blue Jays pitchers have been taking batting practice and doing bunting drills in anticipation of having to hit in these games, Sanchez’s two bunt attempts were less than ideal, to put it kindly. The young righty looked as uncomfortable trying to get a bunt down as he looked “hitterish” in the two at-bats where he actually got to swing. He held the bat back and stabbed at the ball as it approached the plate, which doesn’t work at all. Having done that twice, he swung and missed at strike three.
In the top of the fifth, a struggling Jake Peavy ran into trouble once again, issuing a two-out walk to Michael Saunders – the second free pass he’d handed out in the inning. Trailing by three and already having thrown 105 pitches, Peavy would have been removed right there if this game had been played by American League rules. But since Peavy was due to hit second in the bottom of the frame, he was left in to try to escape the jam so that the Giants could avoid either an early double-switch or having their reliever have to hit second in the bottom of the fifth.
Peavy gave up an infield single to Troy Tulowitzki to load the bases but then popped up Russell Martin to wriggle out of the jam and allow his manager to safely pinch-hit for him with Conor Gillaspie, who flied out.
The same thing happened with Sanchez in the bottom of the seventh. He came into that inning cruising, having allowed just two hits, one of which was a fly ball lost in the lights by Saunders. With a two-run lead, Sanchez gave up a single to Trevor Brown and wild-pitched him to second while he was walking Denard Span – his fifth walk of the night.
Normally, even with the Blue Jays’ bullpen struggling as it has been this season, that likely would have been it for Sanchez with the lefty Joe Panik coming to the plate. However, since Sanchez was due to hit third in the next inning he was given the opportunity to face another hitter, and he got Panik to ground out.
It didn’t wind up amounting to anything, but Brown also illustrated an important aspect of National League baseball in the second inning, when he singled with two outs. The last thing a team wants is its pitcher leading off, so when the eighth hitter extends an inning, allowing them to clear the pitcher, it’s always a big sigh of relief. Brown did just that, allowing Peavy to come up and strike out on three pitches to end that inning instead of doing it to lead off the next one.
The Blue Jays will play two more in San Francisco under National League rules, and won’t have to do it again until they head to Philadelphia in mid-June.