Blue Jays’ major problem emphasized by Eugenio Suarez’s 4-homer game

On Saturday, Arizona’s Eugenio Suárez made MLB history by mashing four home runs in the Diamondbacks’ loss to the Braves, making him the 19th player in MLB history to accomplish the feat.

It also means that he hit more home runs in one game than the Blue Jays did all of last week. 

That’s right. Suárez (four homers) hit more home runs in one game than the entire Blue Jays’ lineup last week (three). 

Eugenio Suárez’s historic 4-homer game puts Blue Jays offensive struggles into perspective

The Blue Jays’ offensive struggles hit a depressing low last week, as they only ended up recording nine runs across the six games they played. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that they went 1-5 across that stretch. 

The Blue Jays’ lone home runs came from Nathan Lukes, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Anthony Santander.

All three of the home runs were solo shots. 

On the other side, Suarez hit three solo home runs in one game and added a two-run shot for good measure. 

It gets worse. The Blue Jays haven’t had a multi-homer game since Alan Roden and Anthony Santander went yard in Toronto’s win over Atlanta on April 15. 

It’s a power outage unlike any other in MLB. The Blue Jays only have 15 home runs on the season (the second-lowest in MLB), while Suárez is one of  two players with 10 home runs on the season (along with Blue Jays killer Cal Raleigh). 

Andrés Giménez and Santander are tied for the Blue Jays’ lead in home runs with three, but Giménez hasn’t hit a home run in almost a month, while Santander is beginning to heat up after a slow start to the season. 

It shouldn’t be like this for the Blue Jays. While no one expected them to look like the 1995 Cleveland Indians this season, their lineup has more talent and pop than their cold streak indicates. 

The Blue Jays locked Guerrero up on a $500 million extension, and Santander signed a $92.5 million contract in the offseason. 

But it doesn’t help that the team has two lineup regulars who don’t have a home run (Bo Bichette and Ernie Clement) and three regulars with only one home run.

If they want to keep up with the rest of the American League East, something will need to change. 

The Yankees are tied for the MLB in home runs with 45, while the Orioles and Red Sox both have 33. Even the Rays (an organization that’s never been known for its power) have 25 home runs. 

The Blue Jays’ lack of home runs seem to be due to the team’s approach under new hitting coach David Popkins.

The Blue Jays are in the middle of the pack when it comes to batting average (.240, 15th in MLB) and have the third-best strikeout rate in (19%), they just don’t have any power. They’re 26th in MLB in (.344) and RBI (90).

The Blue Jays are putting together competitive at-bats and are putting the ball in play; just not in a way that gets the ball to leave the park.