Blue Jays bring back home run jacket in rout of Chicago White Sox

Article content

The Blue Jays brought back the home run jacket, a symbol that drew just as much scorn from old-school baseball enthusiasts as it provided fun for the current generation of players.

Article content

When Bo Bichette finished rounding the bases in the third inning of Wednesday’s 9-2 win over the visiting Chicago White Sox, the jacket he donned was a revised version of the one worn when Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were members of the team.

Article content

The mere fact Bichette went go deep was noteworthy.

No player hitting out of the cleanup hole has gone yard for the Blue Jays this season, one of many factoids highlighting the issues surrounding the team’s lineup.

Not since the 1997 Houston Astros has a team endured such a drought.

During his pre-game availability, manager John Schneider was asked about the homerless streak from the team’s cleanup hitters.

“Bo’s going deep tonight,” said Schneider, who had Bichette batting cleanup.

Article content

It was that kind of night for the Blue Jays, a night when all went right.

Mind you, the opposition happened to be the Chicago White Sox.

Toronto had finally run into an opponent that was worse off, though the ChiSox did take the second game in the three-game series and will play host to the Blue Jays for a three-game set beginning next Monday.

In the series rubber match at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays won in a rout to win their first series in more than one month when they took two of three in San Diego against the Padres on April 19 and 20.

It’s now on to Detroit for a four-game series against the Tigers.

Against the White Sox, the Jays took advantage of starter Nick Nastrini, a pitcher who was out of his element.

The Jays countered with Chris Bassitt, a legitimate big-leaguer who was spotted seven runs through two innings, more than enough to coast home in winning his fourth game of the season.

Article content

Article content

All told, Bassitt went seven scoreless innings, an outing featuring five hits yielded and four strikeouts recorded.

The Jays, meanwhile, improved to 22-26.

With the next 10 games on the road, the Jays will need to go 7-3 to reach the .500 mark before Baltimore comes to town on June 4.

Going yard will certainly go a long way in turning this Jays season around, especially when it applies to Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Bichett’s homer was only his third of the season, while Vlad Jr. hasn’t gone deep since May 5.

In Wednesday’s win, Vlad Jr. committed his fourth error of the season.

It must be noted Vlad Jr. has as many home runs as errors.

Chicago scored its two runs off Genesis Cabrera, both in the eighth inning, as his struggles continued.

Article content

FEVER PITCH

The Jays’ six-game homestand, which ended with a 3-3 mark, began when unheralded pitcher Tyler Alexander of the Tampa Bay Rays flirted with a perfect game through 7.1 innings last Friday night in helping the visitors to their 4-3 win.

The Jays ended their stay at home against an even more unheralded pitcher in Nastrini, whom the ChiSox called up from triple-A once the decision was made to push veteran Mike Clevinger to Thursday’s series-opener against the Orioles.

Bassitt was on the mound to begin and end the homestand for the Jays.

Wednesday’s outing was Bassitt’s 10th start of the season.

Against the Rays, he went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on five hits, three walks and five strikeouts.

In seven-career starts against the White Sox, Bassitt went 3-2 and posted an ERA of 3.89.

Article content

Nastrini, meanwhile, made his MLB debut against the Kansas City Royals on April 15.

The 24-year-old was tagged with the loss, but he allowed only three hits and gave up two earned runs in 5.0 innings

In his next outing on April 21 against the Philadelphia Phillies, Nastrini gave up six hits, five walks, five earned runs and one unearned run in 3.0-plus innings.

The following day, he was sent to the minors.

Chicago sent Nastrini to triple-A the following day.

The White Sox acquired Nastrini from the L.A. Dodgers at last year’s trade deadline when Chicago sent veteran pitchers Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn to the Dodgers.

Given his body of work, all kinds of alarm bells would have sounded had the Jays not been able to score runs off Nastrini.

Article content

Following a first inning when the Jays flew out, worked a walk and then grounded out twice, Toronto unloaded in the second when seven runs would scored on six hits.

The at-bats began when Justin Turner drew a walk and ended when Turner grounded out at first.

All seven runs came with two outs.

In the Jays’ past three losses, the team scored a combined seven runs.

They were shutout Tuesday in a 5-0 loss to the ChiSox when Toronto generated two hits on a night when only three baserunners reached base.

As for Nastrini, who would turn into an unwitting sacrificial lamb, he mercifully got the hook after walking three within a span of four hitters in the fourth inning.

He left in a 9-0 game after leaving two runners on base

Article content

PITCHING IN

Bowden Francis pitched in triple-A Wednesday before it began to rain; it has yet to be determined whether the righty requires an additional outing in the minors before rejoining the big-league club; either way, it seems a return appears to be on the horizon … Yariel Rodriguez made his first rehab start in the minors Tuesday, facing four batters (error, single, walk, sac fly) in throwing 16 pitches; in his next start, the aim is to have the righty from Cuba go two innings … Wednesday’s best pitch came courtesy of Leo Kikuchi, son of Jays’ left-hander Yusei who caught the kid during the ceremonial first pitch on Kikuchi bobblehead night, a called strike.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Article content