Bats boom again as Jays survive rocky Hutchison start
Bautista hits grand slam, while Donaldson and Encarnacion also homer
Poor Tyler Duffey. The 24-year-old Texan made his major-league debut Wednesday night for the Minnesota Twins, but any excitement over his dream-come-true call-up must have been dulled when he looked at the opposing lineup. Tulowitzki, Donaldson, Bautista, Encarnacion . . .
And it was a brutal baptism, courtesy of the best offence in baseball.
The Blue Jays teed off on the hapless rookie, scoring six runs on a pair of homers before the game even reached its quarter-mark, sending Duffey home with just two innings and a bloated 27.00 ERA to his name.
Josh Donaldson continued his MVP-calibre season, homering in his third straight game — and for the sixth time in his last 10 — while Jose Bautista launched his fifth career grand slam and Edwin Encarnacion added his 20th long ball of the year as the Jays outmuscled Minnesota 9-7.
Toronto has now won four straight games and seven of its last eight. The Jays also maintained their one-game lead atop the Orioles for the second wild-card spot and remain undefeated with Troy Tulowitzki in the lineup.
But their thumping offence and recently bolstered bullpen just barely covered what was another discouraging start for Drew Hutchison, whose ongoing struggles are of increasing concern.
Since the all-star break, the Jays’ starting rotation had actually been the best in the American League — compiling a tidy 2.91 ERA in 17 starts before Wednesday, largely on the back of R.A. Dickey’s and Marco Estrada’s improved performance and one sterling start from David Price — but Hutchison has remained the weak link. The 24-year-old has not pitched beyond the sixth inning in more than two months now, while his ERA since July 1st is 6.97.
Hutchison still earned his 10th win of the season Wednesday because he continues to be the most well-supported pitcher in the majors. Padded with nine runs, Hutchison’s average run support increased to 6.7 per game, a shade above teammate Mark Buehrle for tops in the league. How long can the Jays endure Hutchison’s struggles? The club has four off-days upcoming this month and they have hinted that they plan to pitch Price every fifth day, regardless of days off. Those could be opportunities to skip Hutchison’s turn in the rotation. Or maybe they’ll continue to pound their way through his problems.
Given their offence, that wouldn’t be entirely unreasonable.
The Jays have by far the league’s highest winning percentage in games in which they have given up five or more runs, while Wednesday marked the sixth time this season they have won while giving up seven or more.
With bats like these, the Jays don’t need an ace every night. They can get by with average pitching, even mediocre.
But when the games get tighter, as they certainly will over the next two months, they won’t survive many nights like Wednesday.
On the plus side, it was another solid night for the Jays’ upgraded bullpen, as Liam Hendriks, Brett Cecil, and unheralded deadline acquisitions Mark Lowe and LaTroy Hawkins combined to throw four shutout innings.
With Aaron Sanchez suspended and Roberto Osuna needing a rest day, the save opportunity fell to the 42-year-old Hawkins, who earned his first as a Blue Jay while also becoming the 13th pitcher in history with saves against all 30 teams.