Roden, Santander find the magic formula for a win?

TORONTO -- Two home runs? In this economy?

The Blue Jays finally did it. Tuesday’s 6-3 win over the Braves at Rogers Centre was their first multihomer game in a season that’s been starved for power. This, finally, is what it’s supposed to look like.

Alan Roden’s (Toronto's No. 5 prospect) first career home run and Anthony Santander's 157th came in a five-run fifth that felt like the inning the Blue Jays have spent the past two weeks searching for. Santander’s was a no-doubt three-run shot over the right-field wall, a sudden gust of oxygen for a team that’s been trapped in tight, scrappy games for most of April.

“It’s what we’ve been waiting for,” manager John Schneider said. “That part of the lineup, I don’t want to say you’re not expecting Alan to go deep, but I think that Myles Straw’s at-bat, the homer and then watching Bo [Bichette] and Vlad [Guerrero Jr.] get on base? That’s how we want it. It gives you breathing room with your starter. It allows you to manage your bullpen differently. Hopefully, that’s a breath of fresh air for everyone. It’s going to come.”

The Blue Jays entered Tuesday’s game with just nine home runs in their first 17 games, dead last in Major League Baseball. Schneider has said every day for the past week that he still loves the at-bats he sees and is confident it’s about to turn, and while you’ll be forgiven if you’re tired of hearing that after the past two seasons, Schneider’s used a different tone and different language this time.

There’s been a phrase that keeps coming up: the Blue Jays need to “separate the score." There’s been less time spent on “damage” and the many blanket terms like it and more time spent saying the obvious part out loud. The Blue Jays need to hit more home runs, period, and the fifth inning is a look at how fun this game can be when that happens.

These conversations about power have gotten to the core of the Blue Jays’ hitting philosophy, which has departed from years spent obsessing over “swing decisions." They want to let it rip a little more often now and focus on making great contact, not just lots of contact, which is how previous years have felt.

“I think we probably overcooked it a little bit,” Schneider said prior to Tuesday’s game. “Now, it’s, ‘Get something you can drive.’ It’s about paying attention to the quality of the contact as opposed to the actual swing decision, if that makes sense. That’s why I’m saying that under the hood, I like the quality of the contact. I really think that Vlad, Bo and Tony are close to just being themselves and being able to separate the score a little bit.”

It matters who homered, too.

When a rookie like Roden has these moments, it energizes an entire clubhouse. He’s earned the respect of veterans and young players, all of whom have been itching for these moments to celebrate the new kid.

“Obviously, the excitement of the home run is one thing, but then being greeted by teammates,” Roden said, beaming after the win. “George [Springer] was at the end of [the dugout], and he said I was going to hit a homer today. I was like, ‘Oh, I hope you’re right.’ It worked out. It feels really good.”

Santander represents the other side of this, the veteran who has come to Toronto to help lift this lineup from average to good, then good to great.

He hit 44 home runs a year ago for the Orioles, so this is nothing new, but he’s a notoriously slow starter. Seeing a swing like that from Santander was one of the most encouraging moments of the young season, and yes, things like this can be contagious.

The camera slowly pans to Guerrero and Bichette, each without a home run through 18 games. When it comes -- especially for Guerrero -- it could trigger an avalanche, and if Schneider was onto something about the quality of the at-bats lately, perhaps he’s onto something when it comes to Guerrero, too.

Tuesday’s win is the long overdue blueprint, though. Everything gets easier when you hit home runs, and if the Blue Jays can add this power on top of the excellent pitching performances they’ve gotten, like Kevin Gausman’s six strong innings in the win, that’s when the magic happens.