Slugger Juan Soto feasts on Blue Jays rookie after Kevin Gausman given the hook in Mets win

Article content

Presumably, manager John Schneider saw something to suggest that rookie Mason Fluharty was better-equipped to get the Blue Jays out of an inning that wasn’t even a jam yet.

Even though the young lefty has yet to prove he’s big-league material.

Perhaps the book on the New York Mets hitters strongly suggested that because of his southpaw delivery, Fluharty was better-suited to retire slugger Juan Soto than veteran Jays starter Kevin Gausman.

Even though Gausman had retired 14 in a row before allowing a one-out walk to Francisco Lindor to begin the sixth inning on Friday afternoon at Citi Field.

Whatever the motive — and by now, no pitching change should be considered a surprise with this team — the Jays manager made the mound visit and gave Gausman the hook, subsequently marching into his first controversial move of the season.

The subsequent implosion paved the way to an easy 5-0 Mets home opener win at Citi Field. And it’s one that fans will be griping about for a while.

It also was a stark reminder that opponents on a 10-game road trip against the Mets, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles are likely to put up much sturdier resistance than the meek Washington Nationals did when the Jays swept them in three games at the Rogers Centre earlier in the week.

The rationale on taking Gausman out at that pivotal point of the game would have had plenty of data support for the matchup gurus, even though his pitch count was at 87.

Clearly, the Jays didn’t want their righty to face the celebrated first-year Met for a third time, especially given the fact Soto has hit Gausman with authority previously in his career. Prior to Friday, Soto was 8-for-15 against Gausman with a pair of doubles, a home run and a dozen walks.

That said, in Friday’s two earlier plate appearances, Soto had a meek pop-up and ground out — plenty of fuel for the second-guessing crowd.

Truthfully? The issue isn’t taking Gausman out. Plenty of big-league managers would have made the same move. But if you’re taking out your would-be ace starter with the highest-paid player in baseball at the plate, you better be damned sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.

And in 23-year-old Fluharty, there is nowhere near enough of a body of work to affirm as much, especially before a sell-out crowd on the road roaring for a big Soto moment.

Unfortunately for the Jays, it didn’t take long after Gausman’s abrupt exit for the first road game of 2025 to completely collapse.

Trailing 2-0 at the time, Soto rocked Fluharty with a double to the right-field corner to score Lindor. After an intentional walk to Pete Alonso, who had homered in the first inning, it was Brandon Nimmo’s turn to double, driving in another run and ending Fluharty’s day.

Boom. Boom. Bye-bye four-game win streak.

What would the Jays have liked about the Fluharty versus Soto “showdown?” Schneider was probably hoping to catch the Mets’ $765 million US man off-guard with the unlikely lefty-lefty matchup.

Instead, it was a mismatch, complete with a rather spectacular blowup of a conclusion.

MORE SOTO STING

Fitting or fateful — take your pick — that it was Soto and Alonso doing the big-bat damage on a day both the Jays and Mets were limited to just four hits each.

Every Jays fan is well aware the team made an aggressive bid to land Soto — a game-changing lefty swinger who spurned Toronto for Queens and that record-breaking contract. The Jays also spent some time exploring the possibility of bringing Alonso north as well and were ultimately unable to land either power hitter.

The fact both were key figures in a win that delighted a crowd on hand to salute the two fan favourites added more sting. Soto’s RBI double in the sixth displayed the versatile skill that makes him as feared a hitter as there is. Alonso’s first-inning homer was all power, as he flicked his wrists at a good Gausman pitch out of the zone with just enough heft to clear the right-field wall.

But as far as the marquee scoreboard goes: Make it Juan Soto 2, Blue Jays 0, so far in 2025.

And another tally worth lamenting? The Blue Jays’ home-run aversion is carrying over into 2025. Through eight games, they’ve hit just five while surrendering 14.

rlongley@postmedia.com