Jays defeat O’s 5-2 spurred by Kirk’s 3-run homer

Bassitt stifles best lineup he has faced

Blue Jays’ righthander Chris Bassitt had already posted six solid innings, but trailed by a run when batterymate, Alejandro Kirk stepped up to the plate with runners on first and third in the bottom of that sixth frame. The 25-year-old recently resurgent catcher drove a high-in-the-zone offering from hard-throwing lefthander Gregory Soto, on a direct line over the left field wall, giving the Jays their first lead, one they never relinquished in a 5-2 victory. Bassitt worked 7.2 innings of 3-hit ball.  

So, what’s been the difference for Kirk since Danny Jansen was traded to the Red Sox, leaving the 25-year-old as the No. 1 catcher with what will be a much heavier workload, one that he did not handle well when Jansen was injured in April

“Just getting back to when he’s really good, which is looking for strikes and hitting the ball hard,” said manager John Schneider, on his catcher’s recent surge. “I love what he’s doing behind the plate. I thought he was great with Chris tonight. He’s got to just keep it rolling.”

The Jays, as was their perhaps ill-conceived off-season identity, made five superb defensive plays to help their beleaguered pitchers to a rare low-run game. Bassitt, Genesis Cabrera and Chad Green allowed two runs or fewer, the first time for any Jays pitching since July 5. The cherry on top of the leather-flashing Jays sundae was yet another fast-twitch, fence-busting face-to-padding grab by centre-fielder Daulton Varsho, never breaking stride on a laser drive to right-centre field off the bat of Gunnar Henderson, hitting the outfield wall hard, like an unsuspecting street-racing city pigeon meeting the squeegeed office window of a downtown highrise.

“I’ve said it a million times, Varsh is the best there is in the game, in my opinion,” Schneider said. “I know people beg to differ and you look at every stat in the world, but Varsh changes the game every single night, it seems like, defensively.”

Bassitt, when asked, went as far as to suggest that if Varsho does not win the Platinum Glove as best defender at any position, that the award should be abolished. He also had high praise for the Orioles’ lineup and thus for himself in this game, considering he fanned nine O’s and held them to one Jackson Holliday solo homer.

“I truly think they’re one of the best lineups, if not the best lineup in baseball,” Bassitt said, after facing Baltimore twice in a row, over six days. “And they’re probably the hardest team that I have to face. It forces you to work on things you’re not really comfortable working on. I have to say, I had my best slider I’ve had in years today.”

The Tuesday O’s-Jays game made some old-school, touchy-feely baseball people smile, as it turned out, late in the prep process, at 6:50 p.m. minutes before the 7:07 p.m. start, even while the O’s scheduled starter, the talented Grayson Rodriguez was in early stages of his preparation, that he was scratched and replaced by Albert Suarez, for whom the Jays lineup had not had any chance to video-prepare. What to do?

“It didn’t change much with another righthander,” Schneider sort of disagreed with the premise of his hitters not seeing the correct video in the afternoon. “It’s tough when it’s a totally different look than you prepared for all afternoon. Suarez was good. He’s had a good year.”

But Suarez allowed just two hits in five shutout innings.

The Jays play Game 2 of the series and of the six game homestand on Wednesday, with RHP Bowden Francis taking on O’s newcomer LHP Trevor Rogers.

On Votto’s ETA

The imminent arrival of Etobicoke native, Joey Votto, to the Blue Jays does not depend on any statistics he posts at Triple-A Buffalo. No, after being shut down at spring training with an ankle injury, stepping on a bat on the floor of the dugout, following a home run vs. the Phillies in his only plate appearance of the camp, he has finally reached the point where he controls his immediate future, as long as he continues to be healthy.

“Just being in touch with him, how he’s feeling, how he’s seeing the ball, how he’s feeling physically, really,” Jays manager John Schneider said. “He’s made it very clear that he wants to have the results be pretty good (at Buffalo). Again, he’s not dictating it, but I think, if he’s feeling pretty good and hitting the ball hard, see where we’re at.”

The Bisons were rained out at home on Tuesday night, meaning that in his three games at Triple-A, the 40-year-old Votto is 2-for-5-.400, with a homer, two RBIs and two walks. He has played 19 games at three levels on the Jays farm and the numbers don’t matter.   

“You signed him for a reason and I think it hasn’t gone exactly how anyone planned,” Schneider said. “But I think you make room for him. Having a guy like him here, in this clubhouse that goes a long way. It kind of depends on him, but if there’s a way to get him on, we would certainly entertain that. Guys are playing now and we’re getting a good look, but I think if he’s available and performing well, I think it would go a long way for the guys that are here.”

If one was a gambling person, given Votto’s continued physical progress, one might be able to pinpoint the date of his arrival back to the majors. His only team, the Cincinnati Reds are coming to Rogers Centre for an interleague series, Aug. 19-21. He would love to be here for that, which means it makes sense for him to join the Jays part way through a six-game road trip to Anaheim and Chicago. There is an off-day in Chicago on Aug. 15 followed by three-day games at Wrigley Field. Sounds like a good time for a Blue Jays debut.     

Ernie Clement at Shortstop

For the first time since July 9, in his third game following his recall to the majors, rookie Leo Jimenez played a position other than shortstop. The 23-year-old Panamanian found himself starting at second-base for the third time in 24 games, making room for Ernie Clement at shortstop. The 28-year-old Clement was making his second start in a row at short.  

“I think he’s good at third, second, short,” manager John Schneider said. “I want to see him a little bit more there, but I think he’s been good anywhere we’ve put him. It’s been really nice for us. George (Springer) is in right. Wanted to keep Barger’s bat in there. Kind of just picking and choosing a game (at short) for both of them. They can each do either one. It just came down to that. With Chris pitching and a lot of lefties, you try and cover the middle as best you can. It could have been either way, but I think getting Leo a couple of games there is good.”
Parsing Schneider’s words, with a relentless Orioles lineup that featured four lefthanded bats and two switch-hitters pulling balls to the right side,, the manager felt more comfortable with Jimenez than either of Davis Schneider or Spencer Horwitz, who was DH for the night.

Injury Update Thursday

On Thursday, checking in with the Blue Jays medical team at Rogers Centre will be injured shortstop Bo Bichette (calf strain) and bullpen closer Jordan Romano (rt. elbow arthroscopic surgery). At that time, on Thursday, the club will likely have a better idea on a timeline for a return to the Jays. While the club is hoping Bichette can return in ’24, at least for the final month, it’s unlikely that Romano will pitch again this year, given the amount of time he has been down without throwing.