Blue Jays Bats Erupt After Lineup Shuffle
It was a few feet from immediate impact.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo shuffled the batting order ahead of Saturday's game against the Mets, and new leadoff man George Springer took the second pitch of the contest to the left-field warning track.
Dominic Smith nestled under the ball, securing the fly on the outfield dirt, but the early shot was a sign.
After a shutout Friday night, Toronto's freshly shuffled bats awoke. Even when Hyun-Jin Ryu failed to work through five innings, Toronto's new order ensured a victory with 17 hits and 10 runs. After zeroes in the opening frames, it took just one turn through the lineup for Montoyo's new lineup to deliver
“It felt like it was time to make a move," Montoyo said.
Two innings later, Springer found the few feet he lacked on his fly ball in the first, sending a laser-shot over the left-field wall to open the scoring. Eleven pitchers after that, Teoscar Hernández delivered company for Springer's ball in the bleachers, turning on a Taijuan Walker slider and slashing Toronto's second homer of the game.
Each of Toronto's first five hitters had a hit Saturday, and all but Vlad Guerrero Jr. homered (he doubled off the top of the wall instead). Springer set the pace with two hits, and the four batters behind him combined for nine knocks of their own.
Back atop the batting order, Springer was in the spotlight all evening. With an out in the third, Brandon Nimmo sent a slicing liner into the deep alley as Springer turned and jolted. Running across the Citi Field outfield, Toronto's CF closed in on the warning track, then the wall, and left his feet with glove outstretched. He quickly popped up, pumping his fists with the ball in his glove as Hyun Jin Ryu tipped his cap.
"I mean that's probably my favorite [catch]," Springer said after the game. "It got hit and I just ran”
WOW. pic.twitter.com/7wjmk2NrKt
— MLB (@MLB) July 25, 2021
Springer has played 317 career games in center field and 607 in the leadoff spot. Only one active player has more homers from the leadoff spot than Springer, and his resume hitting first was Montoyo's largest justification for the lineup change.
"There was always the idea of hitting one of the best leadoff guys in baseball leadoff," Montoyo said pregame.
The new lineup construction didn't score Toronto's 10 runs, their hitters did. With 17 hits and five homers, Toronto would've posted a big tally regardless of the order. But Montoyo felt like it was "the right time" for a change, and through one game he was proven right.
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon