SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Just beyond the left-centre field wall at Sutter Health Park, beside the out-of-use barbecue and the pallet of industrial-strength dishwashing liquid, you’ll find the visiting clubhouse.
It’s functional, rather than glamorous, with cramped quarters and folding chairs bearing the logo of the stadium’s co-residents, the Sacramento River Cats. This is a temporary home for the Athletics between stints in Oakland and Las Vegas — and you can tell.
But these games still count, so give the Blue Jays credit for taking advantage of a free-falling Athletics team on the way to a 7-6 win Friday night. Along the way, the Blue Jays registered two significant milestones — the 1,000th hit of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s career and Max Scherzer’s first win with the Blue Jays.
“I’m happy about this,” Scherzer said. “You come to the park, you want to win. You want to be the pitcher that wins. You want to go out there and deliver zeros.”
With a result like that, and just two games remaining before the all-star break, it’s a little easier to overlook the questionable playing conditions that aggrieved Athletics starter Luis Severino and the stifling first pitch temperature of 36 degrees Celsius, or 96 Fahrenheit. Now 55-39, the Blue Jays are tied with the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for the third-best record in baseball, trailing only the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers.
"A great first Blue Jays win for a future Hall of Famer," said manager John Schneider.
After an off day Thursday, the Blue Jays’ bullpen could have withstood a short start from Scherzer if needed, but pitching on an extra day of rest, the right-hander put together one of his best starts as a Blue Jay, holding the Athletics scoreless until the sixth inning and striking out eight.
He set season highs with 90 pitches and six innings, an indication that his troublesome right thumb was feeling a little better. While Athletics sluggers Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom took Scherzer deep in his final inning of work, this was still a major step in the right direction for the 40-year-old on the way to his first MLB win since July 25 of last year.
Next up, Scherzer will get a chance to rest over the all-star break before beginning the second half with some of the momentum that eluded him for so much of the early part of the season.
“I’m physically good,” he said. "I know I can pitch like this. It's been a thumb injury. It's so stupid. But I've been dealing with it. This is how I can pitch. It's just a thumb injury. I'm not dealing with systemic injuries here."
As for the thumb, Scherzer said it came out of the start “pretty well” and believes he can now get on a roll where “everything’s really good.”
After Scherzer's departure, relievers Braydon Fisher, Brendon Little and Yariel Rodriguez each held the Athletics scoreless before Jeff Hoffman allowed two runs in a 33-pitch ninth to make it a one-run game that felt a little too close for comfort.
Offensively, the Blue Jays did what they should against Severino and a pitching staff that ranks 29th among the 30 MLB teams with a 5.29 ERA. Most of their production came in a six-run fifth, though it was small ball, rather than home run power, that chased Severino and gave the Blue Jays the lead.
After George Springer reached on an error, Guerrero Jr. singled to right for the 1,000th hit of his big-league career. It's a meaningful achievement for any player, and especially impressive for a 26-year-old partway through his seventh MLB season.
“I’m very happy about it,” Guerrero Jr. said through interpreter Hector Lebron. “This is not the only thing I’m going to do in this organization. I’m very proud to do it here.”
Asked which of Guerrero Jr.’s hits he likes best, Schneider pointed to the very first, a double against these same A’s back in 2019. But Guerrero Jr. said his favourite is No. 1000.
“I’m just 26 years old,” he said. “To accomplish that goal at such a young age, it’s big for me.”
"A cool milestone for him," Schneider added. "He's going to have, I think, a lot of milestones in this organization."
Vladimir Guerrero Sr. collected 2,590 hits at the MLB level, and has told his son he might eventually approach him. Health permitting, Guerrero Jr. would like to do that — and then some.
“If I said no, I’d be lying to you,” he said. “But to be honest, my goal is to get to 3,000 hits.”
Soon after reaching first, Guerrero Jr. stole second and when the Athletics tried to catch him, Springer bolted home from third for a steal of his own. That set in motion a six-run rally that also featured RBI singles from Addison Barger, Alejandro Kirk and Myles Straw, a late replacement for Joey Loperfido, who fell ill.
Barger and Straw would later steal bases of their own, as the Blue Jays continued playing effective small ball — though with two games remaining in one of baseball’s most hitter-friendly environments, they have a couple more chances to show off some power.
In the meantime, the Blue Jays are doing enough other things well. Scherzer is looking as good as he has all year, and the offence found a way to put up seven with small ball, so after taking their first loss in 11 games Thursday, the Blue Jays now have a new winning streak in the works.
“We’re playing great baseball,” Scherzer said. “Let’s finish this series off and have a great first half.”
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