{"id":620665,"date":"2026-04-22T08:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T08:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/620665\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T08:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T08:36:10","slug":"blue-jays-use-late-rally-to-beat-angels-as-offence-starts-to-find-its-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/620665\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays use late rally to beat Angels as offence starts to find its way"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANAHEIM, Calif. \u2013 Since a foul tip fractured his left big toe April 11 and relegated him to observer status in the dugout, George Springer\u2019s noticed a steady improvement in the at-bats taken by the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a>, especially over the past week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s becoming clear we’re starting to find an identity of who we are and that’s the most important thing,\u201d he said in the visitors\u2019 clubhouse Tuesday, shortly after testing his toe with some light running for the first time. \u201cYou’re starting to see at-bats strung together, you’re starting to see some balls fall, which is obviously good. And I think guys are starting to understand how they’re getting pitched and what’s working for them in the moment. I\u2019ve actually liked a lot of our at-bats this whole trip, it just hasn’t progressed the way everybody would call a positive day in the score column. But guys are starting to find their way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hours later, that trend continued in a 4-2 triumph over the Los Angeles Angels, giving the Blue Jays both their first series victory and three straight wins for the first time since a season-opening sweep over the Athletics.<\/p>\n

Though they only took control with a three-run eighth \u2014 which featured a one-out double by Ernie Clement, an intentional walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.<\/a>, a tiebreaking, pinch-hit, two-run double by Lenyn Sosa<\/a> and an RBI single by Eloy Jimenez \u2014 they hit the ball hard all game long until they were finally rewarded.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough to be stubborn when there are a lot of hard-hit balls right at guys,\u201d said manager John Schneider, whose players hit eight balls at 99.4 m.p.h. or harder for outs. \u201cGive the guys a lot of credit for sticking with it and when you’re doing things like that usually it breaks and you get a couple things to fall your way, and it did later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guerrero also scored the tying run in the sixth, when he hit an infield single that ran his hit streak to 12 games, advanced to third when Jesus Sanchez ripped a hard chopper to right and scored on Jimenez\u2019s liner to left.<\/p>\n

The production survived a nervous ninth when Jeff Hoffman, pitching for a second straight night, allowed a one-out single to Mike Trout before hitting Joe Adell and Jorge Soler with errant sinkers. Pinch-hitter Yoan Moncada then ripped an RBI single that pulled the Angels within two, prompting Schneider to make a move.<\/p>\n

In came Louis Varland, and he threw a changeup to induce a 4-6-3 double-play ball from Nolan Schanuel that survived a replay challenge, earning him his first career save.<\/p>\n

That ensured five efficient innings of one-run ball from Patrick Corbin<\/a> and three solid innings of relief from Spencer Miles, Mason Fluharty and Tyler Rogers didn\u2019t go to waste.\u00a0Fluharty\u2019s two outs in the seventh were vital, as he came on with one on and one out in a 1-1 tie, struck out Schanuel with a pretty sweeper while keeping Oswald Peraza close enough for Brandon Valenzuela to throw him out trying to steal second on the pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe scored some runs after that, it for sure shifted the momentum in our favour,\u201d Valenzuela said of the double play. \u201cWe were expecting something from (Peraza) throughout the game, that he’s going to go, he’s going to take a chance. I was more worried about blocking the pitch but as soon as I saw movement over I was ready to go and Fluharty made a tremendous pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays (10-13) can complete a sweep Wednesday afternoon when Eric Lauer starts against Jose Soriano in the finale, an opportunity driven by the offence finding its way.<\/p>\n

There were several examples of that, but Sosa\u2019s at-bat in the eighth, entering the game for Jesus Sanchez, spitting on a chase curve from Drew Pomeranz, whiffing on one heater up and away before drilling the second.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically I was just trying to stay right-centre, looking for a pitch there that I can drive,\u201d Sosa said through interpreter Hector Lebron. \u201cComing from the bench, you’ve got to be ready. Maybe they thought I’m not ready, but I was ready for the fastball, trying to connect, put on good contact and hit it out in front. I got my pitch and I connected pretty well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Springer\u2019s first reps running \u2013 straight sprints of increasing intensity \u2013 raised the possibility that he might soon be ready to rejoin the lineup and provide yet another boost. He also did some hitting Tuesday to go with some throwing Monday and he\u2019ll do some more activity Wednesday, his first day eligible to come off the injured list, based on how well he recovers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whether a return Friday in Toronto, when the Cleveland Guardians arrive for a three-game set, is realistic wasn\u2019t immediately clear. Springer didn\u2019t want to characterize how the running went beyond saying, \u201cI know it’s going to hurt, it’s a broken bone, so not much I could do besides just say, screw it and we’ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s \u201cgetting antsy\u201d sitting on the sidelines, he\u2019s also wary of pushing too fast and compensating elsewhere on his body, leading to another problem down the road. That it\u2019s still April is a reminder that he needs to think strategically about getting himself better for the games to come, that\u2019s of cold comfort when \u201cI want to be out there with the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToday was a good day, it’s a good step in the right direction, but it’s obviously nowhere close to the speed that I play at, I have one speed and I understand that,\u201d Springer added. \u201cI’ve got to be able to do a little bit more than that but I’ve also got to knock on the door a little bit and let them hold me back, if that’s the case. I obviously want to play. But I’ve got to be smart at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

An offence that\u2019s suddenly productive and contributing to wins will make it easier for him to do just that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ANAHEIM, Calif. \u2013 Since a foul tip fractured his left big toe April 11 and relegated him to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,3302],"class_list":{"0":"post-620665","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-toronto"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}