MINNEAPOLIS — John Schneider, hitting coach David Popkins and assistant Lou Iannotti sat inside the visiting clubhouse at Target Field and talked deep into the night after Thursday night’s 7-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
A year ago, the Toronto Blue Jays developed a clear offensive identity that was pivotal to their success, but carrying it over to this season has been difficult so far between the injuries, roster churn and some early struggles. “The more consistently we can kind of play in sync, one through nine, one through 13, whatever it is,” the manager explained, “the better off we’re going to be.”
“Everyone kind of knew what they were doing — this guy’s going to grind, this guy’s going to make contact, this guy we want to slug,” Schneider added later. “We’re still sorting through that, really, to be honest with you and the domino effect of not having guys, it leads to some guys trying to do things that they’re not great at or do too much. It’s a constant thing we talk about every day. The important thing is figuring out that now. Yeah, you can dream of what it looks like when you get Lukey (Nathan Lukes) and (Addison) Barger and (Alejandro) Kirk and whoever back. You’ve got to figure out everyone, really, and how they fit with one another.”
Within that context Kazuma Okamoto’s latest big night, going deep in the fourth and fifth innings off Simeon Woods Richardson for his first multi-homer game in the majors during a 7-3 romp over the Minnesota Twins on Friday, continues to be an important development.
His first homer, a solo shot on a Simeon Woods Richardson slider in the fourth, restored a Blue Jays lead after Byron Buxton’s two-run drive in the third off Patrick Corbin had tied the game 2-2. His second one, on a first-pitch splitter from the former Blue Jays prospect, followed a six-pitch walk by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and opened up a 6-2 lead.
They’ve lacked both Barger’s pop and Kirk’s disciplined, pitch-eating patience and contact in the middle of the lineup and Okamoto’s power coming around after a period of struggle can help backfill for the production that departed with Bo Bichette in free agency.
Of course it can’t be him alone and the synchronicity Schneider described was all over this victory.
Yohendrick Pinango, continuing to impress since being promoted after Lukes’ injury, got the ball rolling for the Blue Jays in the second on a chopper to first with runners on second and third and the infield drawn in. Josh Bell fielded the ball and threw home but wide, pulling catcher Victor Caratini into the basepath where he collided with Daulton Varsho, who scored easily, with Lenyn Sosa following in behind him.
There was no need for fullback-style scoring on RBI singles from Pinango in the fourth and the seventh, not to mention a single in the fifth for a three-hit outing. The Blue Jays had both hits and slug, a combination they’ve been trying to find more often.
Corbin, meanwhile, made the offence work, continuing to be the type of pitcher every team needs “stepping in who you weren’t really counting on to stabilize you for a little bit,” said Schneider. He allowed two runs on six hits, one the Buxton homer, and a walk over 5.1 innings before a significantly pro-Blue Jays crowd of 19,762, and the team is now 4-1 in his five starts.