TORONTO -- It doesn¡¯t always have to be big, bold and beautiful. The analytics don¡¯t care about aesthetics, anyways.
The Blue Jays¡¯ first win of the 2025 season, 8-2 over the Orioles on Friday night at Rogers Centre, was built upon a pile of plays in a fourth inning that felt like it would never end. Of the five runs that stumbled across in that inning, not a single one was brought home by a base hit.
- A bases-loaded walk to Nathan Lukes
- A sac fly from Alan Roden
- A wild pitch to the backstop on the first pitch from Orioles reliever Albert Su¨¢rez
- A sac fly from Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
- A throwing error into the Orioles¡¯ dugout with Bo Bichette on third
¡°This was just a good collective approach, right?¡± manager John Schneider said. ¡°It sounds easy to say, but everyone did their part. You look at today compared to yesterday with Bichette, Vladdy and [Alejandro Kirk], that¡¯s the difference. There¡¯s no secret to it. George [Springer] had some good at-bats today, too, and the guys at the bottom did their thing. That¡¯s what we¡¯re asking of them.¡±
In a spring spent mixing sports metaphors, new hitting coach David Popkins turned to golf when he spoke about the Blue Jays choosing the right ¡°club¡± out of their bag. There are times to grip it and rip it with the driver, then there are times to play it safe with the 9-iron. Ideally, one sets up the other.
Friday¡¯s fourth-inning outburst was more controlled, the result of the Blue Jays stringing together a long line of solid swing decisions with a little patience mixed in. Take Lukes¡¯ walk with the bases loaded as an example. It¡¯s easy to miscast that as the pitcher handing Lukes an RBI, but there may be no more impressive walk than one which comes with the bases loaded, when the temptation to pull out the driver is louder than ever. Every golfer knows one thing, too, from the hackers to the pros: Nothing beats a good bounce.
While that fascinating fourth inning earns the headline here, Toronto batters put on a laser show Friday night. This might be the most encouraging takeaway of all, because while some of these ended up in the Orioles¡¯ gloves, the Blue Jays put 17 balls in play with an exit velocity north of 95 mph, which is the line for a ¡°hard-hit ball.¡± This lineup only had more than 17 hard-hit balls twice last season (23 on July 10 vs. the Giants, 18 on Aug. 31 vs. the Twins).
"Give them credit for how they swung the bat,¡± said O¡¯s manager Brandon Hyde. ¡°I thought they took good at-bats against us, especially in the fourth inning there, and we just had a tough time putting out the fire.¡±
If the Blue Jays can pair that loud contact with innings like the fourth, where they scrape some magic together, we¡¯ll be staring at a complete offense.
¡°Sometimes, that¡¯s grinding out an at-bat with a walk. Sometimes, that¡¯s shooting the ball the other way. Sometimes, that¡¯s hitting the ball out of the yard,¡± Popkins said in late February. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of different ways to get it done. Great offenses don¡¯t have one way to get it done, they have every way. That¡¯s our plan.¡±
The game plan itself deserves some credit, too. Let¡¯s go back to Schneider¡¯s office around 4 p.m. ET, when he met with the media. Schneider was asked about the bottom of his lineup, a string of three lefties in Will Wagner, Lukes and Roden. A righty, perhaps?
¡°I thought about it,¡± Schneider said. ¡°But with [Gregory] Soto and [Cionel] P¨¦rez [in the Orioles¡¯ bullpen] tonight, I¡¯ve got no problem flipping it when it comes to that spot of three lefties with [Davis] Schneider and Ernie [Clement].¡±
That exact spot came up with P¨¦rez on the mound in the bottom of the seventh. With two on and two outs, in came Clement, who ripped a two-run double into the left-field corner before Schneider followed him right out of the dugout and walked. There will be 100 times this year when the Blue Jays have a plan in their pocket that never comes to fruition, but this is what they¡¯re always chasing.
If the 12-2 loss on Opening Day was as bad as it gets, this is a look at life on the other end of the spectrum. The Blue Jays will go as far as their offense takes them in 2025, and if they can develop an offensive identity that fits into their game planning this smoothly, that¡¯s when this could really start to get fun.