Blue Jays chase Skenes to extend win streak to four

George Springer ignited another big moment with a leadoff homer off Paul Skenes as the Toronto Blue Jays stretched their surge to four straight wins, sharpening their approach for the tough left-hander and setting up Sunday’s chance at a sweep of the Pittsburg

TORONTO — The mood at the plate started with one swing. George Springer made sure of that, launching a leadoff homer that set the tone against Paul Skenes and nudged the Toronto Blue Jays toward a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Springer’s night carried extra weight because it came from a hitter who’d spent stretches of the last several weeks chasing his own timing. After returning from the injured list on April 29 with a broken left big toe. his numbers had been 9-for-48 with a double and two RBIs in 13 games. This week, though, it finally looked like the bat speed he’d been waiting on.

He described that shift as a “mechanical groove” he felt he’d found. even while warning. “there’s a long way to go.” Still. the evidence kept stacking up. Springer added hits in each game since. extending his streak to six games. and in Saturday’s win he did it by turning on a 97.8 m.p.h. upper-rail fastball from the NL Cy Young Award winner.

Down 0-2 in the count, Springer sent it 396 feet to left for his third homer of the week—more than doubling his previous total. A double in the fifth rounded out a display of contact that looked deliberate, not forced, matching the approach manager John Schneider had been preaching.

Schneider’s message was blunt: “You’ve got to get him out-over as much as you can and pick not a pitch. but an area of the plate. and try to grind him down as much as you can.” He added that the hitter’s job is to be ready when opportunity comes: “You’ve got to take advantage when you get guys on. … But this is like a hard-hat day. … You’ve got to be ready to hit. He’s not going to pitch around you. He’s going to be in the zone with some pretty good stuff.”.

The Blue Jays didn’t just strike early. They built chances in the second, fourth and fifth innings before turning the game decisively in the sixth. The inning started with a three-spot that grew from a RBI double by Jesus Sanchez. followed by a run-scoring single from Ernie Clement. After Skenes came out, Andres Gimenez’s double-play ball scored Sanchez to make it 4-1.

Schneider pointed to Springer’s leadoff impact as a driver of the whole night. “George setting the tone was key. ” he said. later adding that he sees Springer being “more athletic and into his legs in the batter’s box. ” the same kind of element that fueled his power “last year.” Schneider also credited the clarity that arrived through work between Springer and hitting coach David Popkins. saying Springer had been “very aware of that the last week.”.

For Skenes, it was an uncharacteristically rough outing. He finished with four runs on nine hits and a walk, striking out two over five-plus innings—results that helped translate the Blue Jays’ confidence into a fourth straight win.

Toronto also picked up wins in this run over Cam Schlittler, Carlos Rodon and Bubba Chandler, and after Saturday’s game the Blue Jays are now 25-27.

They’ll keep pushing for more on Sunday, when Dylan Cease starts against Mitch Keller in an attempt to sweep the Pirates.

Springer, meanwhile, is trying to keep the momentum going in more than one way. He plans to extend both his hit streak and his return to form while still managing the toe that’s still broken. He said. “I’m not going to make an excuse about it – I chose to play. ” and he doesn’t frame his improvement as luck. “At the end of the day. I know what I have to do. and I know what I’m dealing with from a foot perspective. But the further we get away from the injury. the more I feel like I’m going to be able to impact the ball.”.

Over the past week, Springer has gone 8-for-25 (.320) with three homers, two doubles, five RBIs, four runs and two walks. Daulton Varsho said the difference has been how Springer swings with less hesitation, pointing to the toe factor directly. “He’s swinging just a little bit more normal,” Varsho said. “He’s getting after it, like not really hesitating to put as much pressure on that toe. He understands that for his swing to work. it has to be full go. so he finally was like. OK. I’m just going to let it go. and whatever happens. happens. That’s the best thing for him and playing with a lot of things going on (physically), that’s pretty impressive.”.

Varsho wasn’t the only one noticing the change. “For me. he’s swinging just a little bit more normal. ” isn’t something fans can only read into stats—Springer’s teammates are watching the intent too. Varsho added. “He understands that for his swing to work. it has to be full go. ” and George Springer said of Yohendrick Pinango that “he gives you a Grade A at-bat every time. ” praising his pace and control at the plate.

And Pinango’s own role is becoming harder to ignore with the Blue Jays’ outfield situation tightening. Nathan Lukes is already in rehab games with a hamstring, and Addison Barger (elbow) is due to resume baseball activity Sunday. That means the Blue Jays are headed toward an outfield crunch.

The last time the club faced this kind of reintegration. when Barger returned from the injured list for the first time. Yohendrick Pinango was the odd man out despite an impressive but short stint on the roster. Toronto chose to maintain their handedness balance then, but Schneider says this time the decision could be different.

“Yeah,” Schneider said. “Like, yeah, we want to stay balanced, and we want to stay versatile and flexible. And you kind of look at what everyone’s doing, you know what I mean?. Performance is performance in real time. So a little bit different now than I think last time. We’ll make that call whenever we (need to) make that call.”.

Pinango, for his part, has been earning his place. He added two more hits Saturday and is now batting .313/.353/.422 with a homer and 10 RBIs in 22 games. Springer said Pinango “doesn’t look overmatched a lot” and that he “seems to slow things down.” Springer also praised his swing intent: “But I love the way he swings. His intent is awesome.”.

If Lukes is ready. the next roster move—barring injury—appears likely to involve Lenyn Sosa or Davis Schneider. both of whom help balance the roster’s left-handed hitters. Yet neither has been especially productive against southpaws. Schneider carries a .497 OPS but a .354 OBP and a team-leading 4.52 pitches per plate appearance. while Sosa has an OPS of .503. a .202 OBP and 3.40 pitches per plate appearance.

With one player dropping out, more at-bats would shift toward the platoon outfielders—Pinango, Lukes and Jesus Sanchez—against lefties. Schneider summed up the decision as a tradeoff. “That’s what we’re working through,” he said. “Do you want the platoon advantage versatility to manoeuvre in-game. or do you say. hey. we’re going to go with guys that are swinging well right now?”.

The night also featured a key pitching subplot of Toronto’s own. Corbin Cooks watched how the Pirates attacked Kevin Gausman in Friday’s series opener and expected a similar pattern Saturday. He said Patrick Corbin was ready to use that aggressiveness against them and did it over six innings of one-run ball. outdueling Paul Skenes. Corbin allowed only five hits while striking out seven.

Corbin explained what he picked up: “Generally. that’s going to be a team game plan. just how they approach things. ” and he added that the Pirates were “swinging early.” His focus wasn’t simply refusing to be baited—it was getting to quality counts where hitters feel they have to be aggressive. “So. not that you want to fall behind or not go to a certain pitch. but just quality early. getting into counts to where they have to be aggressive. and that was the mindset.”.

The Blue Jays walked out of the night with a win that didn’t just extend a streak—it reinforced a message they’ve been trying to carry into every at-bat: be ready. hit the zone decisively. and let the plate approach do the work. On Sunday. they’ll see if they can turn that into something bigger than four straight wins—one more step toward a sweep of the Pirates.

Toronto Blue Jays George Springer Paul Skenes Pittsburgh Pirates Mitch Keller Dylan Cease John Schneider Jesus Sanchez Ernie Clement Andres Gimenez Corbin Kevin Gausman Nathan Lukes Addison Barger Yohendrick Pinango