Blue Jays' Addison Barger: Bangs out first career hit
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Barger went 1-for-4 with a run scored in Monday's win over the Royals.
Getting the start at third base and batting ninth, Barger collected his first career big-league hit with a single to lead off the sixth inning. The 24-year-old has gone just 1-for-15 with four strikeouts since his promotion while seeing action at third base and both outfield corners, but he has more errors (two) than hits so far with the Blue Jays, and a return to Triple-A in the near future seems likely if he doesn't turn things around quickly.
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Blue Jays' Nate Pearson: Collects second career save
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Pearson gave up two hits and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Monday to record his first save of the season in a win over the Royals.
With Jordan Romano and Yimi Garcia having pitched each of the prior two days, and Erik Swanson getting deployed in the eighth inning Monday, closing duties fell to Pearson and he handled them well en route to his second career save. The 27-year-old right-hander fired 11 of 16 pitches for strikes, and his fastball reached 100 mph as he struck out Michael Massey to end the game. Pearson has been scored upon only once in 11 big-league appearances this season, and while his control has wavered at times, he sports a 1.80 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 12:6 K:BB through 10 innings. The Blue Jays have a deep bullpen, but Pearson is making a case to at least be a part-time member of the high-leverage crew.
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Blue Jays' Genesis Cabrera: Nabs win Monday
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Cabrera (1-0) was credited with the win Monday against the Royals, allowing one hit and striking out two in a scoreless 1.1 innings of relief.
The southpaw entered the game in the fourth inning with two on and two out to protect a 4-3 lead, and he got Vinnie Pasquantino to ground out before dispatching Kansas City without too much trouble in the fifth. That was enough to get him named the winning pitcher by the official scorer. Cabrera had a bumpy beginning to the season, but over his last seven appearances he's posted a 2.57 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 6:2 K:BB through seven innings.
Jansen went 1-for-3 with a solo home run during Monday's 6-5 win over the Royals.
Jansen tagged Jonathan Bowlan for a solo homer in the third inning, marking the catcher's second home run in the last three games. After missing the first few weeks of the season with an injury, Jansen is slashing .269/.387/.615 with a 12.9 percent strikeout rate in 31 plate appearances.
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Blue Jays' Justin Turner: Clubs pair of homers
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Turner went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and a solo home run during Monday's 6-5 win over the Royals.
Turner dominated Royals starter Jonathan Bowlan -- who was making his second career start -- notching home runs off him in the first and third innings. The contest doubled Turner's 2024 home run total and was his first multi-homer game since June of 2023. Through 28 games, Turner is slashing .311/.390/.533 with 15 RBI and 15 runs scored.
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Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Inefficient against KC
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Rodriguez didn't factor into the decision Monday, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks over 3.2 innings. He struck out one.
Rodriguez struggled to get quick outs, getting pulled after 82 pitches without completing four innings. While he's yet to go deeper than four frames this season, Rodriguez owns a 4.11 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP on the year. If Alek Manoah (shoulder) isn't ready to rejoin the rotation, Rodriguez should slot into another start Sunday at Washington.
Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Steps out of starting nine
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Bichette is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals.
The Blue Jays haven't indicated that Bichette is nursing an injury or dealing with an illness, so his absence from the lineup for Monday's series opener likely amounts to a maintenance day. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will slide over from third base to man shortstop in place of Bichette, who had started in every game dating back to April 2. Bichette's day off comes while he's managed just one hit in 18 at-bats over his last five games, dropping his batting average to .210 for the season.
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Blue Jays' Brandon Barriera: Gets hybrid elbow surgery
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Barriera's agent, Nate Heisler, announced Monday via social media that his client recently underwent a hybrid surgery on his left elbow and will miss the rest of the 2024 season.
More specifically, Heisler notes that Barriera underwent a traditional Tommy John surgery along with an internal brace procedure. Though an internal brace procedure alone typically entails a 9-to-12-month recovery for pitchers compared to a 12-to-16-month recovery for Tommy John surgery, it's unclear what sort of timeline Barriera might be looking at with a fusion of the two surgeries. In any event, Barriera won't be available until at least next spring, slowing the development of one of the top young arms in the Blue Jays farm system.
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Blue Jays' Tim Mayza: Collects third hold
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Mayza retired the only batter he faced to record his third hold of the season in Sunday's win over the Dodgers.
Brought in to face Max Muncy with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning, Mayza battled the veteran slugger for eight pitches, eventually giving up a deep fly ball to left-center field that Daulton Varsho caught with his back against the fence. Mayza has had a shaky start to the season, but he may be turning things around -- he's been scored upon only once in his last seven appearances. On the season, the 32-year-old carries a 6.30 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 8:7 K:BB through 10 innings, but he remains the top lefty in the Toronto bullpen.
Kirk went 3-for-3 with a solo home run during Sunday's 3-1 win over the Dodgers.
Kirk notched his first homer of the campaign, tagging Dodgers opener Michael Grove for a long ball in the second frame. The outburst was much needed for the slumping Kirk, who entered the contest 5-for-35 (.143) in his last 12 appearances and hitless during his last four games.
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Blue Jays' Jordan Romano: Perfect for fourth save
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Romano earned the save Sunday against the Dodgers, striking out two over a perfect ninth inning.
Romano converted on his fourth straight save attempt to start the campaign, pitching his second perfect inning in six appearances. After missing the first few weeks of the season with an elbow injury, Romano has shown no rust, owning a 3.18 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP through 5.2 frames.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Gausman: Shuts down Dodgers
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Gausman (1-3) earned the win Sunday, allowing one run on five hits and no walks across seven innings against the Dodgers. He struck out five.
The lone run against Gausman came in the sixth inning on a homer by Freddie Freeman. After allowing 12 earned runs over 7.1 innings in his first three starts, Gausman has rounded into form with just two earned runs allowed across 18.2 frames since. He'll look to keep the ball rolling during a weekend road series against the Nationals.
Jansen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.
Jansen started the first two games of the series but will sit for the finale versus Los Angeles. Alejandro Kirk will step in behind the plate to catch for right-hander Kevin Gausman on Sunday.
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Blue Jays' Yusei Kikuchi: Hit hard in Saturday's loss
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Kikuchi (2-2) took the loss Saturday, giving up four runs on nine hits over six innings as the Blue Jays fell 4-2 to the Dodgers. He struck out three without walking a batter.
While the southpaw managed to keep the ball in the yard, he still gave up some very loud contact, including three extra-base hits and an RBI single by Shohei Ohtani in the second inning that left his bat with a stunning exit velocity of 119.2 mph. Kikuchi saw his quality start streak end at three, but he'll take a strong 2.94 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 36:8 K:BB through 33.2 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come on the road next weekend against the Nationals.
