Kirk Goes Wild In Blue Jays' Win Over Nationals
It had been a long while since Alejandro Kirk’s bat made such a sweet sound. Yet in the second inning of Wednesday’s 7-0 win over the Nationals, the stocky catcher barreled up a clutch two-run double.
In a game where the lineup was stretched thin, Kirk’s two-bagger was a tremendous boost. His towering, two-out drive knocked in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Davis Schneider to pull the Blue Jays ahead early. Kirk would work his magic again in the fourth, smacking another double — his third straight extra-base hit going back to Tuesday — to start a Jays rally. Santiago Espinal would drive him in with an RBI single before Cavan Biggio added a sac fly.
Kirk finished the contest 3-for-3 with two doubles, a single, a sac fly, and three RBI.
Overall, Wednesday was a gritty team effort from a compromised group of hitters. Brandon Belt was down with back spasms. Kevin Kiermaier needed a rest, as did Danny Jansen. Ernie Clement, Espinal, and Biggio were all in the lineup. Most notably, Whit Merrifield was batting cleanup, something he’s done just twice in his eight-year MLB career.
“Prototypical cleanup hitter,” manager John Schneider joked before the game. “Yeah, kind of just putting our best guys at the top. Hopefully [Merrifield] is up with guys on base, and [we’ll] kind of go from there.”
It’s ironic that as the Blue Jays squished all their best hitters into the top four, the following five guys did all the damage. But right now Toronto will take offense any way it comes. Clement finished 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Espinal picked up two more RBI.
On the other end, Chris Bassitt turned back the clock with a dominant outing. The right-hander didn’t pick up his first strikeout until the sixth inning, but he silenced the Nationals offense for eight shutout innings.
In the end, he went eight frames, allowed just three hits, and no earned runs with three strikeouts and one walk. The 34-year-old walked off the mound in the eighth to a standing ovation.
Toronto can’t afford to lose many more games. Wednesday’s effort was a clear step in the right direction.
Ethan Diamandas is a contributing writer who covers the Toronto Blue Jays for Sports Illustrated. He also writes for Yahoo Sports Canada and MLB.com. Follow Ethan on Twitter @EthanDiamandas