Ernie Clement drives in a career-high five runs in Blue Jays' rout of Athletics
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The Blue Jays didn’t get in from their stay in the Lone Star State until 4:30 a.m., on Thursday.
Perhaps future early-morning arrivals are in order.
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Ernie Clement drives in a career-high five runs in Blue Jays' rout of Athletics Back to video
Trying to make any sense of this baseball team amounts to an exercise in the absurd, knowing one has no clue what will play out from one series to the next.
The randomness of the sport might explain how a team can score a combined 24 runs in a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres and then push across a total of six runs during a six-game road trip.
Go figure.
Against a struggling visiting Athletics team, the Blue Jays were presented with the ideal panacea.
Offence was not an issue in Thursday night’s 12-0 series-opening rout as the Jays scored eight runs in the second inning — two more than they managed on the six-game road trip — with Ernie Clement piling up a career-high five RBIs.
Toronto recorded 18 hits on the night.
The following are three takeaways on a night the Blue Jays went deep four times in posting their second consecutive shutout win, improving their record to 28-28, and sending the Athletics to their 14th loss in their past 15 games.
1. Berrios buries A’s
Hard to believe a pitcher would set the tone on a night when the Jays’ bats came to life as it did on Thursday night.
Credit Jose Berrios for showing his teammates the way.
His night began by striking out A’s leadoff hitter Lawrence Butler on three pitches.
And when his offence provided Berrios with an 8-0 lead through two innings, his second win of the season — and first since early April — became a certainty.
Despite the comfortable lead, Berrios kept attacking the strike zone. The right-hander finished with six shutout innings, allowing just two hits — a season-low — and two walks while striking out nine, a season-high.
No numbers, however, can do justice to how locked in Berrios was in making his 12th start.
2. Bo-dacious
One swing helped salvage a road tip that was teetering on disaster.
The swing was provided by Bo Bichette, who came into the ninth inning as a pinch-hitter and promptly stroked a two-run homer in a 2-0 win over the host Texas Rangers on Wednesday night, a victory that gave the Blue Jays their series win and a 2-4 record on a trip that began in Tampa.
Bichette wasn’t in the starting lineup because of back tightness.
But he was back in the leadoff spot Thursday as the Jays’ perpetually fluid lineup featured yet another look.
Typical of Bichette’s ultra-aggressive approach at the plate, he swung at the first pitch and flew out to right field.
On the field, Bichette made a nice back-handed play in the hole before throwing a rocket to first base to record the final out in the second.
In the second inning, he went the opposite way for a two-out RBI double that made it 4-0, then swatted his sixth home run of the season in the third.
3. Swiss Army knife Clement
Hard not to cheer for Clement, a true gamer who has shown a knack for stepping up in clutch moments.
He can play and has played in virtually every infield position save for catcher. He’s even made an appearance on the mound.
Against the Athletics, the versatile Clement started at third base. With the visitors opting to start left-hander Jacob Lopez, the Jays went with a right-dominant lineup. As fate would have it, the Jays’ bats were dominant.
Clement, in particular, was spectacular, launching his second homer of the season — a three-run shot to open the scoring — then added a two-run double in his second at-bat of the frame. His five RBIs tied Edwin Encarnacion for the most in a single inning in franchise history.
Clement entered the evening with 11 RBIs on the season.
Up next
The Blue Jays should be well-positioned to move one game above .500 when the second game of this four-game series is staged Friday night with one-time A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt getting the start for Toronto, coming off a four-inning outing in Tampa that was his shortest of the season, while the five earned runs were the most he has surrendered.
fzicarelli@postmedia.com
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