With Toronto trailing 1-0 in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, Giménez strode to the plate following a leadoff double from Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the third, worked a full count and fouled off a pair of two-strike pitches before finding the bleachers for a second straight game.
The sudden power binge from the Blue Jays shortstop is a stunner for a hitter who hadn’t homered in his previous 23 post-season contests and didn’t homer in his final 25 regular-season games.
Acquired by Toronto in an off-season trade with the Cleveland Guardians, Giménez has never been a massive threat to go deep in his six-year MLB career, but at times in his debut season with the Blue Jays, the homers have come in bunches.
During the opening week of the season, Giménez — then batting cleanup for the Blue Jays — came out of the gate on fire, hitting three big flies in the club’s first five games. And in late August, he ripped two homers in a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins at Rogers Centre.
Giménez’s big swing on Thursday set the stage for another big inning for Toronto at T-Mobile Park, as the club’s offence continued to work Mariners starter Luis Castillo. Nathan Lukes and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added some traffic against the right-hander with back-to-back, one-out singles, and Alejandro Kirk worked a seven-pitch walk to load the bases, ending Castillo’s night.
Gabe Speier entered in relief and walked Daulton Varsho with the bases loaded, bringing in a third run in the inning,. He was able to limit the damage after that with two straight strikeouts.
It was the second-shortest start of Castillo’s career, however, as Toronto chased the 32-year-old in the third inning of a start for the first time since April 2018.
The move will surely have repercussions on Seattle’s pitching staff throughout the remainder of Game 4 and Game 5, as the Mariners will work through their bullpen for six innings on Thursday night.