TORONTO -- Less than 24 hours after a walk-off thriller, the Blue Jays were right back at it.
Despite cloudy skies and a weekday start, Rogers Centre was rocking from the jump. The energy surged in the second inning, when Toronto’s right-handed bats teed off on Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo, who was still reeling from a 12-run shellacking in his last outing on May 31. The noise only grew from there as the Blue Jays rolled to a 9-1 win.
First, it was Myles Straw with an RBI double. Then Tyler Heineman followed with a run-scoring two-bagger of his own. And to top it all off, Bo Bichette launched a vintage two-run homer, leaning into his back foot and uncorking his signature helicopter follow-through as the ball sailed over the right-field wall.
For the second straight contest -- coming off Alejandro Kirk’s heroics on Wednesday -- Blue Jays fans got exactly what they came for: offensive action at the right moments and a sound win by the home club.
There’s suddenly impact-bat potential throughout the Blue Jays lineup, an element the club has lacked for the previous two seasons. Kirk, Addison Barger and Ernie Clement are now all in form, giving manager John Schneider plenty of pieces to work with. And when role players like Heineman and Straw drive in runs? That’s gravy.
“In games that we do really well, I think the bottom of the order probably does their part,” said Schneider. “They're on base for the guys at the top. ... It’s nice that it doesn’t have to be the same single person or two every single night.”
This meeting with Luzardo marked a perfect storm, as the Phils lefty continuously grooved pitches and Toronto capitalized. After a four-run second inning, Luzardo was back in the blender come the third, as the bottom of Toronto’s order found a frenzy. Six straight Blue Jays reached safely, and they tacked on four more runs in frame.
Straw drove in two with a sharp single, then two more came around to score when Phillies shortstop Trea Turner mishandled a tough pop-up off Heineman’s bat in shallow left, a play ultimately ruled a hit.
Straw came out hot this year, posting a 1.006 OPS over his first dozen games. He's has cooled off since, but performances like this are a reminder of the value he brings.
“[Straw] has been great all year,” said Schneider. “And he's another one who just understands when he's going to play, what is needed from him. He's a gamer.”
The Blue Jays’ numbers back up the eye test. Toronto came into Thursday’s game with a .770 OPS since May 22, good for fourth-best in the Majors. The Blue Jays also rank first in on-base percentage (.348) during that span and have baseball’s best strikeout rate (13.3%).
After the series win versus the Phillies, you could craft a neat statline from most Blue Jays hitters lately. In his nine-game hitting streak, Bichette has homered four times and has 10 RBIs. Heineman is batting .404 with a .976 OPS overall this season. Clement has 15 hits in his last nine games.
Now, Heineman and Straw won’t often combine for six RBIs, but their success takes some weight off Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bichette atop the lineup. For example, Guerrero was quietly 0-for-5 Thursday, yet the Blue Jays offense still delivered 14 hits.
On the mound, Chris Bassitt spun seven strong innings of one-run ball, locking up the series win. The righty attributed a change to the first-base side of the rubber for his success. He also appreciated the cushy lead his teammates gave him.
“I'll give credit to the offense,” said Bassitt. “Give me eight runs after the third or fourth, and it makes pitching a lot easier.”
Bassitt’s postgame comments underscored a simple truth: When the offense shows up, this team wins. There’s plenty of ball left to play, but right now, it’s clear pitching isn’t a sore spot for this club. And if bats stay hot, Toronto could stay firmly in the playoff hunt for the remainder of the season.