Game Recap: Blue Jays Bats Explode Against New York Yankees

Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

After a shaky start by R.A. Dickey the Toronto Blue Jays’ bats explode for an 8 run 5th inning.

Blue Jays- 10    Yankees- 6

W: Brett Cecil    L: Preston Claiborne

R.A. Dickey‘s final start to the spring was designed to simply give him some work. He has already reached 100 pitches twice this spring, so stretching him out was not the goal. He took the mound to pitch a couple innings and get out. So, if you’re looking for Dickey to give you some warm, fuzzy feelings about Blue Jays pitching heading into the season, you might want to look away. His line is not going to inspire you. In 3 innings of work, Dickey gave up 7 hits, 6 earned runs including 4 walks. It is a good thing the results weren’t the focus of today’s outing.

After Dickey’s day was done, so was the Yankee hitters’. Steve Delabar, Brett Cecil (sporting a fresh mohawk), Aaron Loup, Aaron Sanchez, Ryan Tepara and Bobby Korecky all combined to keep the Yankees scoreless the rest of the way.

The real story to this game was the hit parade that took place in the fifth inning. Most of the damage was done to Preston Claiborne as he was responsible for 6 of the 8 runs. It all started with a double by Ryan Goins. Melky Cabrera drove him in as part of his 3 hit day. The hits, and a walk by Colby Rasmus (!) kept on coming! Jose Bautista showed signs of a great approach to the season by going the opposite way through the Yankees’ offensive switch. It was nice to see. Hopefully, that will continue this season. In total today, Blue Jays hitters combined for 14 hits. Bautista, Adam Lind, Maicer Izturis and Brett Lawrie all chipped in 2 hits each. Lawrie hit his first home run of the spring to left field.

For Blue Jays fans, this offensive outburst will be a welcome sight. With some doubt surrounding the starting rotation, the offense will be leaned on to carry the team at times. If we learned anything from today, it is that that should not be a problem.

OF NOTE: There was a scary moment when Edwin Encarnacion was hit by a pitch. It looked as though it may have hit him in the wrist. But, it was the inside of his right forearm. He exited the game giving a thumbs up and seemed as though it was no big deal. Let’s hope.