TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays‘ offensive woes have been well-documented this season but prior to Wednesday’s game, yet another stat outlining those struggles was brought up to manager John Schneider.
The club had received no home runs from the No. 4 spot in the lineup this season. According to MLB Network, that 47-game drought marked the longest a team has gone into a season without a homer from its cleanup spot since the 1997 Houston Astros went 60 games without one.
Schneider was asked about the dubious stat and promptly offered a prediction.
“Yeah, Bo’s going deep tonight,” Schneider replied with a smile.
Turns out the manager should try his hand at lotto tickets.
Bo Bichette, batting cleanup for the 10th time this season, launched a rocket off Chicago White Sox rookie Nick Nastrini for a two-run homer that put an exclamation mark on a seven-run second inning for the Blue Jays, who cruised to a 9-2 win in front of 28,670 at Rogers Centre.
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The win improved the Blue Jays to 22-26 on the season and helped the club capture its first series win since April 19-21 against the Padres in San Diego.
After Bichette rounded the bases and reached the dugout he was greeted by teammate Jose Berrios, who placed the club’s long-forgotten home run jacket over the shortstop’s shoulders. The celebratory garment was a staple of years past — think back to the days of Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. — but the team decided to retire it ahead of the 2023 season.
The jacket, which has been updated from its previous iteration, was once a symbol of the dynamic, power-laden offence the Blue Jays boasted. The current club, which entered Wednesday with MLB’s second-worst offence, can use every ounce of mojo it can muster.
Schneider’s prediction aside, it was fitting that Bichette was the one to bring back the blazer as his offensive struggles this season have been among the biggest disappointments on the team. Bichette swinging a hot bat could go a long way toward a Blue Jays resurgence.
Bichette’s homer was his third of the season and came off his bat at 103.4 m.p.h. He added an RBI single in the fourth and collected six hits in 11 at-bats during the Blue Jays’ three-game set against the White Sox.
Davis Schneider and Daulton Varsho each drove in two runs on Wednesday, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added an RBI single.
The run support benefited Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt, who allowed five hits over seven scoreless innings. It was easily the right-hander’s best start of the season and lowered his ERA to 4.39. He walked two and struck out four while tossing 107 pitches.
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Up next for the Blue Jays is a four-game series against the Tigers in Detroit, followed by a pair of three-game sets against the White Sox and Pirates. In total, including the now-completed series against Chicago, that’s a critical 13-game stretch against weaker opponents for the Blue Jays as the club looks to dig itself out of the basement of the American League East.
With two wins out of three against the White Sox, the Blue Jays are off to a good start. They’ll be in better shape, though, if the home run jacket is taken off its hanger more often.
