The Jays finally found their offense and rode it to a 9-3 win over the Giants, putting together the kind of scoring night that had been missing. They did most of the damage early, then added one more in the ninth to put the game away.
It started in the second inning, when Brandon Valenzuela opened with a single and Sean Keys followed with a hard-hit single at 108.5 mph. Jonatan Clase then turned it into a real inning with a 362-foot homer, a blast that would have left the yard in 22 of the 30 MLB stadiums.
The third inning was the big one. Vladimir Guerrero started things with an opposite-field single, and Kazuma Okamoto matched him with another opposite-field hit.
Valenzuela then singled to center to drive in a run. After Daulton Varsho grounded out to move the runners to second and third, Keys came through again with a single that scored both.
Clase added another single to put runners on the corners, Andrés Giménez brought one home with a single, and Ernie Clement finished the rally with a sacrifice fly.
The Jays tacked on one more in the ninth. Clement led off with a single, Nathan Lukes followed with a single to put runners on the corners, and Guerrero grounded into a double play that still brought in a run, even if the swing itself was rough.
Toronto finished with 13 hits, and Clement led the way with three. Valenzuela, Keys, and Clase each had two.
Varsho was the only hitter in the lineup without a hit, though he did smoke a 102.7 mph lineout and posted a .650 expected batting average. His other at-bats, though, were not much to write home about.
The Jays also went 4 for 10 with runners in scoring position, which made for a solid offensive day overall. They did go five innings without a baserunner, but that got buried under the nine runs.
On the mound, Spencer Miles was not sharp, allowing seven hits in four innings while striking out one. He was fortunate to come away with only two earned runs.
Patrick Corbin gave up one run over 2.1 innings, and his outing began with a single and a double that could have been caught by Nathan Lukes. The single was one Lukes seemed to play conservatively, running parallel instead of attacking it.
The double was just over his head, and he again did not make much of an effort. Corbin still limited the damage to one run.
Jeff Hoffman recorded the final two outs of the seventh with a strikeout. Mason Fluharty worked a quick eighth, and Louis Varland handled the ninth on 19 pitches without allowing a baserunner. The pitchers also avoided issuing a walk.
After the defense was rough yesterday, it was a much cleaner day all around.
Jays of the Day went to Clase, who finished at 0.25 WPA, and Keys at 0.09. No one claimed the other award, though Guerrero came close at -0.08.
The Jays are back in a day game tomorrow, with a 3:45 Eastern start. Dylan Cease, 5-4 with a 2.79 ERA, is set to face Logan Webb, 5-6 with a 3.66 ERA.
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