TORONTO — So this is what it’s supposed to look like when a team contending for a wild-card spot faces off against what’s effectively a triple-A club.
One night after a surprising loss to the undermanned, last-place Kansas City Royals, the Blue Jays (48-43) bounced back with an 8-1 drubbing behind a strong start from Alek Manoah and three-run blasts from both Teoscar Hernandez and Matt Chapman.
The Royals (36-53) travelled to Toronto without 10 players — including outfielders Andrew Benintendi, Michael A. Taylor and Kyle Isbel — who did not meet Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. Five different players have made their major-league debut for the Royals already in this series, and so a second-straight loss for the Blue Jays would not have been a good look. Especially during a week that saw the club fire its manager.
However, that’s not a concern and now the team has a chance to improve to 4-1 under new bench boss John Schneider with wins on Saturday and Sunday, going into the all-star break.
“They came out and they punched us yesterday, so for us to answer back with a nice win today is huge,” said Matt Chapman, whose fifth-inning inning blast to the second deck in left field pushed the Blue Jays’ lead to 7-1, more than enough support for a dominant Manoah.
The sophomore right-hander, who will be headed to next week’s all-star game in Los Angeles, overmatched Royals hitters over his seven innings of work with the help of a slider that induced nine whiffs on 23 pitches. He struck out six, allowing just four hits and one run on a total of 86 pitches.
“He’s a beast,” Schneider said. “He’s definitely put his name out there as one of the top guys in the league and very, very deserving of an all-star selection. You can count on a quality start every time he’s out there.”
The only damage against Manoah (10-4) came in the fifth frame when his errant slider hit Ryan O’Hearn, who came around to score on Nicky Lopez’s single to centre field. Following a meeting with pitching coach Pete Walker, he settled down to retire the next two hitters with a strikeout and groundout. He’s now up to 114.2 innings on the season, third in the American League. Manoah got to that number in just 18 starts and has averaged over six innings per outing. Last year, after being called up to the majors in late May, Manoah tallied 111.2 innings across 20 starts.
“He’s a workhorse,” said Schneider. “He has been since he got here. And he’s just continuing to do it.”
“It’s been a good first half with some good learning experiences in there and definitely some good games to help build good momentum going into the second half,” said Manoah, who listed his routine and off-season work as reasons why he’s been able to remain consistent.
“The biggest thing is having some good, quick innings and letting our offence go back out there and do what they do. Like tonight. Being able to throw in a 7-1 lead feels pretty good. Just continue attacking and let that offence work.”
That lead was built up early when Blue Jays hitters jumped on veteran Royals starter Zack Greinke (3-6), who was making the 503rd start of his big-league career, placing him 46th on the all-time list. Teoscar Hernandez led off the second inning with a bloop double to right field and advanced to third on Chapman’s single, before scoring on a liner to centre field off the bat of Raimel Tapia. The next inning, Hernandez deposited an 87-mph cutter from Greinke over the centre-field fence for a three-run homer to push the lead to 4-0. The ball travelled 416 feet, igniting the crowd of 26,422 at Rogers Centre.
Chapman added to the festivities when he cranked his 15th home run of the season — one of his three hits on the night — in the fifth inning and said after the game that he’s beginning to see results from the extra work he’s done on his swing with Blue Jays hitting coach Guillermo Martinez and hitting strategist Dave Hudgens over the past few days.
“I’m just trying to use my legs a little bit,” Chapman said. “It’s easy to lose a feel for things over the course of a season. So just trying to get that feel back of using my legs. When I use the ground, good things happen for sure. Just trying to get myself ready to help this team through the second half.”
The third baseman entered the day with a .218/.295/.413 slash line in 84 games this year — a far cry from the production he put up during his first three campaigns in Oakland.
“I wasn’t satisfied with what I had been doing at the plate,” he said. “I feel like I could really help this team if I’m right. So, I was willing to make a change. It’s nothing too drastic — it’s just kind of getting that feel back to my legs, being able to drive the ball to all parts of the field.
“I know that I’m better than a .220 hitter.”
Improved production from Chapman would be a welcome sight for the Blue Jays as they enter the second half next week. However, right now, there are still two games remaining before they get there. And while Friday night offered plenty of positives for the Blue Jays, the way they’ve played over the past month has proved that nothing is guaranteed — even if it’s against a bunch of players better suited for the triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers.
“We’ve got to finish off these next two games before we get to the all-star break,” said Chapman. “Every game’s obviously important and going into the all-star break with three wins in a row would be huge. But we’re obviously not looking past tomorrow.
“We’ve got to win tomorrow … Everything matters at this point.”
