Blue Jays overcome non-fatal flaws in 5-1 win over Cubs
Starting infield back together for first time in 44 days
The biggest Blue Jays hit of the night in their 5-1 win over the Cubs on Tuesday night was supposed to be a bunt. But Ernie Clement missed the sign and swung away at the first pitch he saw in the fourth inning, driving his ninth home run scraping the left field wall, into the bullpen at Rogers Centre. Clement now, for the year, has 23 hits, four homers and 10 RBIs, when putting the first pitch in play.
“Ernie’s going to put the bat on the ball,” manager John Schneider said. “He actually missed the bunt sign on that home run, which is pretty funny. You’re living right when you do that. He can do that on certain pitches. That’s a great swing on a first-pitch slider. At that point it’s 1-0. He makes it 4-0. Glad he missed the sign.”
The AL leader in basehits, Bo Bichette chipped in, but on the negative side with what could have been a costly defensive gaffe in the third. Dansby Swanson led off and bounced a ball in the hole towards left field. Bichette failed to charge, double-clutched inside his glove and threw late as the speedy Cubs shortstop beat it out.
Bo’s leadoff throw-pas led to big trouble for Jose Berrios in the third, but despite throwing a grinding total of 38 pitches to six Cubs he faced, the veteran righthander escaped, allowing no runs while still hanging on to the 1-0 lead. He purposely pitched around Kyle Tucker with two men on, then fanned Carson Kelly.
“You don’t see that very often, especially against a good hitting team like the Cubs,” Schneider commented on Berrios’s Houdini escape. “To me that was kind of the highlight of the game. Their lineup is legit. What it shows about Jose is maturity, understanding the magnitude of the situation, not getting too high or too low. That’s a veteran guy making big pitches.”
However, just an inning later, Bichette had his shot at redemption. It’s what makes baseball such a great game. Nico Hoerner bounced a ball deep in the hole, once again towards left field. This was an even tougher play. Bo backhanded it low to the ground, jumped and twisted his body in the air, launching a precise parabolic projectile towards Vlad Guerrero Jr, who stretched acrobatically to complete the play.
Mistakes? In the second inning, Andres Gimenez sliced a single to left field with Ty France attempting to score from second base. France hesitated slightly as he was reaching third, unfortunately Carlos Febles was already waving him home and the throw from Ian Happ beat his late acceleration to the plate. The tour de France was a subtle opportunity lost early in the contest, that could have made a difference.
It was the first time since June 29 that the regular infield of 1B Guerrero Jr, 2B Gimenez, SS Bichette and 3B Clement had been in the starting lineup. Led by the Bichette gem, each of those infielders had a defensive moment – Vlad in the first, down the line; Gimenez diving to his left to snare a groundball in the fourth and Clement fielding a swinging bunt in the seventh vs. Tucker.
“That’s kind of our (modus operandi),” Schneider said. “Bo probably wants that play back against Swanson, but comes back and…the play in the hole was ridiculous. It’s nice to see (Gimenez) back. There’s no better feeling than when a groundball is hit to Andres Gimenez. We’re going to need those guys.”
Make no mistake, there are danger signs for the Jays moving forward. Over the last four games, three at Dodger Stadium and the opener vs. the Cubs, Jays pitchers have allowed 31 hits and issued 31 bases-on-balls, with one hit-batter over 34 innings. Thirty-one walks in 34 innings is not sustainable and should raise alarms. But so far the magic of the ‘25 season has waved its wand as the Jays lead all of the AL.
“You always worry about that,” Schneider said of the recent lack of command from multiple pitchers. “It was a weird (Dodgers) series with the amount of walks. Weird for a couple of guys in particular. It happens. You want to try and fix it as quick as you can. With (Brendon) Little and (Jeff Hoffman), they had a long layoff, just score dependent. It’s a fine line of resting guys and keeping them sharp. You don’t worry about it because it’s not been their norm, but you want to fix it as quick as you can.”
The Cubs series continues with two more games, before the Rangers come to town for three more on the weekend.
Injury Updates
George Springer (concussion) was back in town for a few days. He has not been cleared to rejoin the AAA-Bisons for some rehab play. He has been swinging the bat, but the decision will be made by a team doctor, an independent physician and the Jays’ training staff. Shane Bieber threw a ‘pen on Tuesday and will start in Buffalo on Friday, expected to throw 80-85 pitches.
“I think it’s a strict rehab calendar when you’re coming off that injury,” Schneider said when asked why Bieber needs another minor-league start after throwing 78 pitches and 5.2 innings on Saturday. “I think first and foremost you kind of want to get him to that (85) number. That’s kind of the way the program is laid out. I think whenever he does get here, you want to feel comfortable that you don’t have to guard him too much. We’re really kind of following the medical team on that.”
Alek Manoah is pitching on Wednesday in Buffalo. Anthony Santander was at Rogers Centre and is hoping to start swinging soon. Yimi Garcia, Nick Sandlin and Bowden Francis are rehabbing in Florida