Dinger Parade in the Desert

Did you want to see the Blue Jays get on base, or did you want to see them sock six dingers?

If you were hoping for the latter, then last night was a visual treat for you. Thanks to Alex Cushing for finding out that the Blue Jays are the first team since 1920 to have all six of their runs scored via solo home runs.

It didn’t look good very early for Brandon Morrow, and it’s usually a bad sign when the pitcher goes 2 for 4 and drives in three runs.


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Needless to say, the Blue Jays kept it very interesting late in the ballgame. Aaron Hill was the tying run at the plate, but he got a little swing-happy early in the count and popped up to end the game.

Can you image if maybe there were even just one of two guys on base when the Jays hit those home runs? It would’ve been an entirely different ballgame.

At the same time, if Brandon Morrow didn’t get nickle and dimed with single after single through the left side of the field, it also would’ve been an entirely different ballgame.

Give props to Edwin Encarnacion for knocking three dingers out of the park. With the DH not in effect, Cito took a bit of a gamble leaving Adam Lind on the bench and Encarnacion in the field. Turns out that move paid off though.

That’s the great thing about these Blue Jays right now. Even though they rank second last in the American League when it comes to On Base Percentage, the long ball has consistently kept them in the game, especially when it comes down to those late innings.

Ian Hunter

Ian has been writing about the Toronto Blue Jays since 2007. He enjoyed the tail-end of the Roy Halladay era and vividly remembers the Alex Rodriguez "mine" incident. He'll also retell the story of Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS to his kids for the next 20 years.

6 thoughts on “Dinger Parade in the Desert

  • May 22, 2010 at 9:55 pm
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    I heart The Simpsons reference at the start of this entry. Also, my roster for my fantasy team is due on Mondays each week, so of course, Edwin is still on the DL for me in that league. sigh!

  • May 22, 2010 at 11:53 pm
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    Thanks Steve, I always try to sneak a Simpsons reference in there whenever possible. Sorry to hear about EE not coming off the DL this week for you. I have a feeling he's going to cool off, but those 4 HR's already this week is pretty amazing.

    Maybe he picks up AL Player of the Week honors?

  • May 23, 2010 at 4:39 am
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    Well, EE can mash pretty well, and my league doesn't care about defense. I have Longoria at 3B, but I play in a super-nerdy league where your backups are pretty important, so I'm hoping EE can keep mashing.

  • May 23, 2010 at 2:34 pm
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    There's your answer – another 3 run home run last night. EE has been a machine this week for some reason.

  • May 24, 2010 at 1:55 am
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    So who sits when Snider gets back? Better not be Travis….

    Here's hoping that Anthopoulos is lining up a trade of JBau or EE. In any event, it's a nice problem for the team to have.

  • May 24, 2010 at 2:41 pm
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    Robbie, good question: I'm guessing it turns into a platoon out in left field with Lewis/Bautista, but who knows. Maybe by the time Snider comes off the DL, Bautista gets traded just like you suggested.

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