After long and winding road trip, Blue Jays are coming home
ANAHEIM -- A franchise of players and staff well-versed in corporate-housing procedure has put another temporary-living situation in the scrapbook, with the grand reveal of a home-improvement project ahead.
The Blue Jays are finally headed back across the border after six weeks of Spring Training and a nearly two-week road trip to open the season. So long to 56 days of takeout, new Wi-Fi passwords and mono-colored cash.
The final team in baseball to host a home opener will at last be reunited with its home fans when it hosts the Tigers on Tuesday.
¡°It was going to be great, no matter what, to go home, but I think getting out of [Anaheim] with a win, winning a series and winning a road trip at the same time, it just makes that long flight a little bit more enjoyable,¡± manager John Schneider said. ¡°[We¡¯re] definitely looking forward to getting in front of our fans on Tuesday.¡±
It is the third time in four seasons the Blue Jays have been away from Toronto for an extended period. There were the COVID-affected seasons of 2020 and '21, with regular-season games at Buffalo, N.Y., and Dunedin, Fla., to this year¡¯s Florida-Missouri-California expedition that ended with an arresting 12-11 comeback victory in 10 innings over the Angels on Sunday.
The Blue Jays trailed 6-0 before Matt Chapman powered a six-run sixth inning with a grand slam. Chapman used a completely different tact in a four-run seventh, with an RBI bloop single for the team¡¯s first lead of the day.
When the Blue Jays¡¯ bullpen sprang a leak by giving up one run in the eighth inning and three in the ninth, Kevin Kiermaier and George Springer drove in runs in the 10th that proved to be the difference. Chapman and Kiermaier each had three hits and five RBIs.
The victory was secured only when left-hander Tim Mayza got Shohei Ohtani to ground out with the bases loaded.
The consensus after an exhausting 6-4 start: It¡¯s time to get home.
¡°It¡¯s huge to go home with a victory; each win is precious,¡± Chapman said. ¡°I know it seems like it¡¯s not with 162 games, but when you¡¯re fighting with teams like the Rays, the Yankees, the Orioles and the Red Sox -- our division is really tough. ¡ To come out of this road trip with the win today, and the way we did it, was just huge.¡±
As if all of the time away wasn¡¯t enough, the Blue Jays followed the victory with one of their longest flights of the season, a 2,500-mile haul that carried them toward the warm embrace of a city expecting spring-like temperatures this week and extra games in the fall.
¡°They bring the energy,¡± said Bo Bichette, who had a hit and two runs scored on Sunday. ¡°You know, as an athlete, it¡¯s special to play in front of a fan base like that. We¡¯re definitely blessed to be in front of them and have that support. So we¡¯re excited to get back there and get in front of them.¡±
Bichette has done his part to ramp up the energy. He heads home with a .996 OPS, having hit two of his three home runs in the past three games. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has a 1.120 OPS, while Chapman¡¯s mark mushroomed to 1.323 and his 14 RBIs sit among the Majors¡¯ leaders.
Even more offense could be ahead with changes to the dimensions at Rogers Centre in order to add an improved fan experience beyond the outfield walls.
Right field now is 359 feet from home plate (previously 375) and the right-center power alley is 372 feet (previously 383). The right-field wall now is 14 feet and 4 inches high, while the right-center wall is 10 feet and 9 inches. The park¡¯s walls previously were a uniform 10 feet. Left field is now 368 feet (from 375) and left-center at 371 feet (from 383). The center-field wall remains 400 feet away, but the height is now 8 feet, bringing home-run-robbing catches into play.
Right-hander Adam Cimber, who will pack into one of the park¡¯s new bullpens, is taking a practical approach, knowing that pitchers aren¡¯t in line to benefit from the changes.
Cimber is lumping in the ballpark remodel with MLB rules changes like the pitch clock, restrictions on defensive shifts, bigger bases and a limit on pickoff moves.
¡°They're trending in an offensive direction around the league, so that's only going to multiply, I guess, when you get to a stadium that moved the fences in,¡± Cimber said. ¡°But I think you just have to accept that and do your best. ¡ There¡¯s not much you can do other than adapt and adjust.¡±
That was the team¡¯s mantra on Sunday, when it figured out a way to have one more postgame celebration in the visitor¡¯s clubhouse and add joy to the tedious travel process.