Blue Jays Grapefruit League Recap: 16-0 blowout versus Canadian Junior National Team

The Jays played two games today in Florida.  The majority of the veterans went up against the New York Yankees while the Jays farmhands along with a couple of familiar Jays faces were matched up against the Canadian Junior National Team.

The Canadian Junior National Team got the opportunity to take the field and see how their talents stack up against those of the Blue Jays.  The Jays had their prospects and many of their minor league players suit up against the Juniors.

18-year-old Blue Jays prospect, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got the start at third base and had several at-bats before he was pulled from the game for pinch-hitter Ryan Hissey.

It took six Jays pitchers to toss nine full innings but once the final out had been recorded, the Jays had coasted to a 16-0 victory at the Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.  Mike Ellenbest got the start for the Jays and was able to pitch three scoreless innings while allowing two hits before he was pulled for Zach Jackson.  Nick Hartman, Griffin Glaude, Josh DeGraaf and Andrew Case were also called upon to each toss a scoreless inning.

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Darwin Barney got the game going with a single in the bottom of the third that drove Christian Williams and Ezequiel Carrera home and gave the Jays a 2-0 lead.  It seemed the two teams were evenly matched during the first half of the game but then things went south fast.  Once the bottom of the 5

Once the bottom of the 5^th came around, the Jays opened it wide up with 4 additional runs before pounding the Canadian Team for 9 more in the 6^th inning.

The Jays production came from several minor league players including Lane Thomas who hit a triple and a double in the 6^th inning.  Blue Jays prospect, Bo Bichette, also saw some play time during the game and ended up hitting a double in the 6^th inning which allowed Edward Olivares to score and make it 11-0 at this point.

By the time the third out was recorded at the bottom of this inning, it was 15-0.  It seemed at this point, the Jays could do no wrong.  They were connecting with every pitch, the balls were flying to the corners of the outfield and they were able to hit almost everything being thrown at them.

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The Blue Jays next game is tomorrow with a split-squad.  One squad plays against the Detroit Tigers at the Joker Marchant Stadium with Casey Lawrence being tapped to start while the other squad will play against the Baltimore Orioles at the Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.  Francisco Liriano, who’s been having a great spring training thus far, gets the start for the Jays.