Jays’ bats tee off on Twins pitching in series-opening rout

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A season-high for runs scored, a four-run deficit swiftly erased, only time will tell if the Blue Jays have turned a corner, but their 10-4 series-opening win over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Friday must be viewed as an important step in the right direction.

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It turned into a feel-good Friday, even though the evening began on an ominous note when poor starting pitching allowed the Twins to push across three runs, then another in the top of the fourth.

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But in the bottom half, the Jays showed their rabid fans how this lineup can function at a high level when everyone is contributing, scoring five runs to claim a lead they would not relinquish. Toronto’s bats were re-invigorated, momentum created that carried over into the ensuing three innings.

Toronto’s victory was its second in a row, its first win streak since the Jays opened the season with a three-game sweep of the visiting Athletics.

The following are three takeaways on a night when four Toronto relievers combined to produce five scoreless innings, while surrendering only one hit.

A REGRETTABLE DEBUT

Not much was expected from left-hander Patrick Corbin, knowing his best days in the majors are well behind him. True to form, not much was extracted, as the veteran gave up four runs on six hits, including two homers, in four innings.

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Then again, the Jays were desperate for a starting pitcher, given the team’s rash of injuries, and decided to roll the dice on Corbin, who recently was signed to a $1-million US contract.

This would have been a complete disaster had the Jays’ bats not come to life.

His start featured 85 pitches and even the outs Corbin did record were loud.

Three of the four runs yielded came in Minnesota’s first inning, when Ryan Jeffers took Corbin deep for a three-run blast.

Kudos, however, to Joe Mantiply, who faced three batters over two innings and struck out all three, earning the win.

Mantiply joined the Jays only last weekend in Chicago, but of the 12 hitters he has faced, seven have struck out.

HIGH-FIVE

Only four times this season have the Jays pushed across five runs, the most recent unfolding on March 31 when Toronto beat the visiting Colorado Rockies 5-1.

On Friday, they matched that total in the fourth inning alone with an onslaught that included three doubles and and a two-run homer by rookie Brandon Valenzuela, his first belt in the majors, that put the Jays ahead 5-4.

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Aggressive and decisive, baseball isn’t that complicated a sport when hitter puts bat on ball, especially when solid contact is achieved. That unique sound off a hitter’s bat when contact is created reverberated through Rogers Centre, where 40,721 were in attendance.

No one should expect the Blue Jays to score five runs in any single inning, but the team’s approach at the plate in the fourth should be a reminder of what can be achieved when the proper mindset is embraced.

Rallies are nice, made even sweeter when bad routes in the outfield result in extra bases.

For the record, the bottom of the Blue Jays order was responsible for four of the five runs scored in the fourth inning, another encouraging sign.

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DAULTON DINGER

On a 1-1 pitch, Daulton Varsho led off the fifth inning with a no-doubt home run that easily cleared the wall in right-centre field.

For Varsho, it was his first long ball of the season. It also was 100th homer of his MLB career.

Varsho has shown to be quite streaky when it comes to going yard. When he returned last season following off-season surgery to his rotator cuff, Varsho hit six homers in his first 12 games. He ended the season by recording 20 homers.

There is no reason why Varsho, assuming he stays healthy, can’t reach the 25-homer total this season.

While he doesn’t profile as a No. 2 hitter, given his tendency to strike out often, Varsho was in the No. 2 hole in the series opener.

Jesus Sanchez batted cleanup. The newest Jay probably would serve better to be a little deeper in the lineup, but keep in mind that the team, at least as currently constructed, lacka a bona fide cleanup hitter.

Kazuma Okamoto batted fifth and was the lone hitter in the starting lineup not to record a hit.

Up Next

Blue Jays left-hander Eric Lauer looked sharp and in control in his season debut against the Athletics, but was way off in his second outing against the White Sox, which was pushed back one day because he was feeling under the weather. Lauer makes start No. 3 Saturday against Twins right-hander Joe Ryan.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com

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