Myles Straw stirs the drink for Blue Jays in 14-2 trouncing of Texas Rangers
Myles Straw has unexpectedly turned into an essential do-it-all player who has come up big in big spots at the plate for the Blue Jays and made some big catches in the outfield. Remember the outcry when the Jays acquired Straw from Cleveland in the off-season, a move essentially designed to free up international signing bonus space to pursue Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki? If anything, club ownership has shown it has the financial means to forget any perceived bad signing. Straw isn’t elite, but he’s no stiff. Far from it for that matter, as he displayed yet again on Saturday afternoon in the Jays’ 14-2 shellacking of the Texas Rangers before another full house in excess of 42,000 at the Rogers Centre. As a right-handed platoon bat at the bottom of the order, and a speedy, sure-handed glove at any outfield position — he played all three on Saturday as both managers toyed with their lineups in garbage time — Straw has been been an ideal fit for the Jays in this breakout season. Straw went 4-for-5, hitting out of the No. 8 slot, which included homers in his first two at-bats — just his third and fourth dingers of the season — and drove in five. Both are career highs. His four hits tied his career best. As for the money the Jays received from the Guardians, reports are the club has signed South Korean pitching prospect Seo-jun Moon. The following are three takeaways from a convincing Jays win in which the bottom of the order went 11-for-18 with three homers and eight RBIs, and finished with catcher Tyler Heineman and ex-Jay Rowdy Tellez on the hill for their respective teams. VARSHO DRIVES ’EM IN Daulton Varsho isn’t the reason why the Blue Jays have taken baseball by storm. He is, however, one of the reasons why the club sits one win away from matching the entire win total from last season. Varsho went 3-for-3 with his 13th home run of the season while his two RBIs gave the Jays’ Gold Glove centre fielder an astounding 34 in just 36 games since he came off the injured following off-season shoulder surgery. When he has played, it’s been hard not to notice Varsho. He doesn’t have the profile of some of his teammates and fans may still be grumbling about the deal that brought him to town from Arizona. But the guy can play, and he has delivered. BY GEORGE, HE’S BACK While George Springer’s return from his concussion sustained in Baltimore late last month was expected, being written in as the leadoff hitter — a role he has not had since the next-to-last game in 2024 — was not. His productivity was usually felt in the middle of the order. Considering the Jays rapped out 18 hits and 14 runs, it was a rather quiet return for Springer, who went 1-for-4 as the DH, after homering in his final triple-A rehab appearance the night before in Buffalo. Springer struck out looking on an inside pitch that was off the plate in his first plate appearance on Saturday, then struck out again in his second. He grounded out to third to lead off the fourth inning in an 8-1 game before beating out an infield hit in the fifth to load the bases. He was hit by a pitch in the seventh. LAUER DECISION COMING Maybe the Jays have extracted all that is possible from Eric Lauer and then some. The lefty has clearly emerged as one of the biggest surprise stories of the season on a team dotted with them. With Shane Bieber poised to make his return to a big-league mound, pitching decisions await. One will involve Lauer, who was signed for long relief but thrived when forced into the rotation as the de facto fifth starter. Lauer’s command was off on Saturday and his pitch count had reached 102 by the time he finished five innings. There are a handful of off-days in the near future that almost precludes the Jays from going with a six-man rotation knowing the club’s established starters need the ball every fifth day. Whatever role the Jays have in store for Lauer, assuming a change is in the offing, it does speak to the luxury the club has been afforded. Up next Jose Berrios and Texas’ Nathan Eovaldi are scheduled to start in Sunday’s series finale (1:37 p.m.) … The big unknown is whether Jays manager John Schneider will officially pick a date for Bieber to start his first game for the club. If history is any indication, Schneider will announce his rotation as the Jays head to Pittsburgh for a three-game set that begins Monday. fzicarelli@postmedia.com
