The Blue Jays made a West Coast game a little less painful by winning 5-1.

On Friday evening, the Blue Jays started a three-game series against the San Diego Padres, defeating the National League West team 5-1.This brings their record to 11-9, the third best record in the American League East.

The runs started early for the Jays, as Justin Turner (who is very familiar with Petco Park from his time as a Dodger) homered in the first inning. It’s nice to jump out to an early lead, as the Blue Jays don’t score often in the first.

Yariel Rodríguez toed the rubber, and on his third pitch of the game, it looked as if the Padres would tie the game, or at least get an extra-base hit. However, Daulton Varsho made a terrific catch, robbing Xavier Bogaerts of a hit.

The biggest hit of the game for either team came from Kevin Kiermaier, who doubled in two runs to make it a 3-0 lead in the top of the second. Of course, this was all that the Jays needed to go home with the win, but Guerrero drove him in with a single, and Turner drove in Bo Bichette.

All of Toronto’s runs came in the first two innings, but pitching made sure that was all they’d need. With that being said, Fernando Tatís Jr. hit a nuke to make it a 5-1 game, the final score on Friday.

Things worth mentioning…

Yariel Rodríguez made his second big league start, finishing with a line of 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K with the home run given up. Diving deeper, he generated a game-high 11 whiffs, including seven whiffs on 17 total swings with the slider. His fastball averaged 94.7 mph and maxed out at 97.1 mph. He’s going to be a problem when he’s fully stretched out.

Bowden Francis pitched in relief, finishing with a line of 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K to bring his season ERA to 9.95. It’s nice to see him pitch a good game. Tim Mayza had a similar outing, striking out a batter in a clean inning of work.

Yimi García is elite, not really much else to say here. He struck out the side in his inning of work, bringing his season ERA down to an insane 0.93.

The Jays had 11 hits on the day. Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Justin Turner, and Danny Jansen all had two hits, with Jansen hitting two doubles. Davis Schneider, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Kevin Kiermaier all had one hit.

Up next: The Jays are back in action on Saturday at 8:40 PM ET, which yes, is the same time that the Leafs will be playing. José Berríos will start the game for the Jays, while San Diego’s starter is yet to be determined. With a win, that’ll be four consecutive series that the Jays have won.

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.





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