ANAHEIM — Now these are the Blue Jays we expected.
Unexpectedly more reliant on its pitching and defense this season, Toronto entered Saturday with a team slash line of .189/.277/.303 with runners in scoring position. But the Blue Jays flipped the script by going 6-for-15 in such situations in Saturday night’s 6-5 win over the Angels at Angel Stadium. The victory sealed a series win for Toronto, which extended its winning streak to a season-high-tying four games.
Mostly held in check by Angels starter Michael Lorenzen, the Blue Jays’ offense showed their resilience, weathering two go-ahead rallies by the Halos before pouncing late on Los Angeles’ bullpen for the second straight night.
While the offensive outburst was largely a team effort — eight players contributing to 10 hits — it was a welcome sight for Toronto to see Matt Chapman deliver the go-ahead runs on a double off Angels reliever Aaron Loup in the eighth, aided by a Los Angeles error.
Loup, who also gave up one run on three hits and failed to record an out on Friday, might just be the man the Blue Jays needed to see to get right, as they are now batting .371 (13-for-35) all time against the lefty, who played for Toronto from 2012-18.
Though Chapman’s average is still at .199 — lower than his peak years with the A’s in 2018 and ’19 — Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo is happy with what the former All-Star and two-time Platinum Glove Award winner is offering on and off the field.
“His average is not that high right now, but you should see him in that dugout, pulling for everybody and being happy,” Montoyo said. “I appreciate people like that. This is a good clubhouse — it just got better with Chapman, for sure. And that defense. You guys know about that defense.”
Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi delivered a bend-but-don’t-break performance, dealing with traffic in each of his five innings as he yielded nine hits and one walk. However, he gave up only two runs.
“The biggest thing from tonight was getting the first out of each inning,” Kikuchi said through an interpreter. “And then, you know, being able to dig deep in those big situations [with runners on].”
Angel Stadium has been a tough environment for Kikuchi, as he entered this start with a 9.70 ERA in five career starts (21 1/3 innings) here during his time with the Mariners. His lone win had come on April 20, 2019, his first appearance at the ballpark.
“My outings from last year against the Angels didn’t go too well,” Kikuchi said. “Before going into tonight’s game, I really tried to put that aside. I really just thought to myself, ‘This year is a new year,’ and didn’t let that get to me at all.”
Fellow Japan native Shohei Ohtani has been particularly tough on Kikuchi, having hit two career home runs against the left-hander. That wasn’t the case this time around, though.
Kikuchi retired Ohtani in all three of their faceoffs on Saturday, notably striking out the two-way sensation swinging on a slider in the third inning. It was Kikuchi’s most impressive frame of the night, as he also fanned Mike Trout and Jared Walsh.
Despite this hot stretch, the Blue Jays are 6 1/2 games back of the first-place Yankees in the American League East. But they’re an unfazed bunch, to say the least.
“We’re just getting going as a team,” said Cavan Biggio, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI double. “Some guys struggled in the beginning [of the season], but we’re getting those guys going, and it’s going to be exciting going forward.”