Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Hammers out four hits Monday
Rotowire
Bichette went 4-for-4 with three doubles, a run scored and an RBI in Monday's win over the White Sox.
Batting cleanup against righty Erick Fedde, Bichette scorched the ball all afternoon, and his final two doubles left his bat with exit velocities of 110.4 mph and 105.8 mph. After a tough start to 2024, the shortstop is catching fire at the plate, recording three multi-hit performances in his last six games and slashing .368/.429/.553 over his last 10 contests.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Launches eighth homer
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Varsho went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a second run scored in Monday's win over the White Sox.
The 27-year-old outfielder crushed a Erick Fedde changeup over the right-field fence in the second inning for his eighth long ball of the season. Varsho is batting just .182 (10-for-55) in May, but half his hits have gone for extra bases (three doubles, two homers) and he's stayed productive with two steals, nine runs and nine RBI in 14 games.
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Blue Jays' Bowden Francis: Could be back this weekend
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Francis (forearm) will throw about 45 pitches for Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday in what's expected to be his final rehab appearance, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
The 28-year-old right-hander has looked sharp in his first two rehab outings, throwing 4.1 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits with a 5:1 K:BB. Francis began the season in the Blue Jays' rotation, but he should fill a long relief role in the big-league bullpen when he returns.
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Blue Jays' Chad Green: One more rehab appearance on tap
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Green (shoulder) threw one inning for Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday and is expected to make another rehab appearance Wednesday, setting him up to potentially join the Blue Jays bullpen this weekend, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
The right-hander breezed through his scoreless frame on only nine pitches Sunday, striking out one batter. Green had a strong start to the season before suffering a shoulder strain in mid-April, recording a win, two saves and two holds in seven appearances with a 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 7:2 K:BB in 7.2 innings. He should immediately slot back into a high-leverage role upon activation, but Green's save chances will be limited with Jordan Romano back in the ninth inning after beginning the year on the IL.
Blue Jays' Jose Berrios: Another quality start in in victory
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Berrios (5-3) earned the win Monday against the White Sox, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out six.
With the 100-pitch effort, Berrios collected his first win since April 20 and second consecutive quality start. The Blue Jays right-hander has posted an impressive eight quality starts in 10 total games started. Berrios owns a 2.98 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 48:18 K:BB in 60.1 innings this season. He is scheduled to face the Tigers on the road in his next start this weekend.
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Blue Jays' Danny Jansen: Collects five RBI
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Jansen went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, five RBI and two runs scored in Monday's victory over the White Sox.
This was the third time in Jansen's career that he has driven in five or more runs in a game, marking the first occurrence since Oct. 1, 2022. The highlight of 29-year-old catcher's day was launching a 377-foot homer off Jordan Leasure in the seventh inning. The Blue Jays backstop has swung a hot bat to open the season, slashing .333/.397/.681 over his first 78 plate appearances.
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Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Gets on base three times in win
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Kirk went 1-for-1 with two walks, a double and two RBI in Sunday's win over the Rays.
The 25-year-old has seen his playing time crater in May as the red-hot Danny Jansen has seized control of the starting job behind the plate for the Blue Jays, but Kirk's own offensive struggles haven't helped. Sunday's performance was his first multi-RBI game since Opening Day, and through five games in May he's batting just .214 (3-for-14).
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Blue Jays' George Springer: On base three times Sunday
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Springer went 1-for-2 with two walks, a double, two runs scored and an RBI in Sunday's win over the Rays.
Dropped to sixth in the batting order over the weekend, Springer responded to the move by getting on base three times, leading to his first multi-run performance since April 14. The veteran outfielder hasn't had a multi-hit game since April 24 though, slashing .156/.214/.203 in 17 contests since then without a homer. Until his bat wakes up, Springer will likely remain in the bottom half of the order.
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Blue Jays' Danny Jansen: In two-hole Monday
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Jansen is starting at catcher and batting second in Monday's game versus the White Sox.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider has been changing things up with his lineups in an effort to get his offense going, and he's trying something new again Monday in batting Jansen higher than fifth for the first time this season. The catcher is slashing .313/.384/.625 on the year, so it's a move that certainly makes sense on paper.
Vogelbach went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two additional runs scored during Sunday's 5-2 win over the Rays.
Vogelbach needed his second career triple to hit for the cycle Sunday after notching a single, double and solo homer off Aaron Civale. The performance marked Vogelbach's 10th career game with at least three hits and his first since July 7, 2023. Sunday's homer was Vogelbach's first of the season and could be what he needs after opening 2024 going 4-for-37 (.108) at the plate.
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Blue Jays' Jordan Romano: Earns unconventional save
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Romano picked up a save Sunday against Tampa Bay, striking out the only batter he faced during the 5-2 win.
Romano was pushed into the save chance after Zach Pop surrendered a two-run home run and then gave up a single to Richie Palacios with two outs in the ninth. Romano got Jonny DeLuca to go down swinging to close out the victory and notch his seventh save of the campaign. Across 11.0 innings, Romano owns a 4.91 ERA with one blown save and a 10:3 K:BB.
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Blue Jays' Alek Manoah: Yields one hit over seven frames
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Manoah (1-1) picked up the win Sunday against Tampa Bay, allowing one hit and one walk with seven strikeouts across seven scoreless innings.
After surrendering six runs in his 2024 debut, Manoah has fired back-to-back seven-inning starts without an earned run. Over those two starts, Manoah has punched out 13 batters and yielded five hits and a pair of walks. He'll look to keep rolling in next start, which tentatively lines up for Friday at Detroit.
Jansen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays.
Jansen started the previous three games but will hit the bench after going 3-for-10 with a double and a run. Alejandro Kirk will step in behind the plate Sunday.
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Blue Jays' Justin Turner: Out of Sunday's lineup
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Turner is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays.
Turner was back in the starting nine for the past two games after missing three contests with an illness, and he'll take a seat for Sunday's series finale. Daniel Vogelbach will step in as Toronto's designated hitter.
Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Tosses quality start Saturday
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Gausman came away with a no-decision in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Rays, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out six.
The veteran right-hander cruised through five innings before running into trouble in the sixth and allowing all three of his runs. It was a solid bounce-back effort for Gausman after he got tagged for seven runs (six earned) in his last outing, and the quality start was his third of the season. He'll take a 4.89 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 43:11 K:BB through 42.1 innings into his next start, which lines up to come on the road next week in Detroit.
