The Toronto Blue Jays will go back to Alejandro Kirk at catcher in the series finale against the Houston Astros.
Toronto looked like they were well on its way to beating Houston, as the Blue Jays led 6-3 going into the ninth inning. Yet, with the bases loaded in the ninth, Valenzuela was called for catcher’s interference, which scored a run to make the game 6-5, and a sac fly the next at-bat scored the tying run.
Following the costly error, the rookie catcher will be back on the bench, as the Blue Jays’ lineup on Wednesday is as follows:
- G. Springer DH
- N. Lukes RF
- V. Guerrero Jr. 1B
- K. Okamoto 3B
- D. Varsho CF
- A. Kirk C
- D. Schneider LF
- A. Giménez SS
- L. Urías 2B
Valenzuela being on the bench isn’t a surprise, as Kirk was going to start the game after he was given the day off yesterday. But, the error likely didn’t help Valenzuela’s chances of possibly getting a chance at DH.
Valenzuela is hitting .252 with 7 home runs and 29 RBIs this season with the Blue Jays. Toronto acquired him from the San Diego Padres for Will Wagner at the trade deadline.
Blue Jays Open to Using Both Kirk & Valenzuela in Lineup
When Kirk went down with an injury, Toronto recalled Valenzuela and he had immediate success not just at the plate, but defensively as well.
Valenzuela’s stellar play led to the team DFA’ing Tyler Heineman, and Blue Jays manager John Schneider said he’s open to the idea of playing both catchers.
“It kind of involves multiple people. For one, he got a chance to play regularly here, which is good,” Schneider said on Blair & Barker. “The development part, if Kirky wasn’t injured, we don’t know where he’s at, he’s playing every day in Triple-A or somewhere. His role will be switched a little bit, in terms of how much he’s catching. If he’s swinging the bat the way he is, it’s tough to not. It’s tough to not get him behind the plate and DH Kirk. We have put a plan in place to put George in the outfield and make that an option and rotate the DH spot.”
However, for now, the Blue Jays haven’t had a lineup with both Kirk and Valenzuela in it.
Toronto Looking for Series Win After Frustrating Loss
The Blue Jays will look for a series win against the Astros on Wednesday at 7:07 p.m. ET.
Toronto led 6-3 going into the top of the ninth and allowed three runs to force extras. Then, the Blue Jays held Houston scoreless in the top of the 10th, but Toronto could score the go-ahead run from second.
“This’ll be frustrating until midnight,” said Schneider. “Whenever you have a chance to win, and you have guys up that you want, yeah, it’s frustrating, but it’s not for a lack of effort … That’s a frustrating one where you feel like you had multiple chances and just didn’t get it done, but that’s baseball.”
With the loss, the Blue Jays fell to 39-40.
Blue Jays Make Decision on Brandon Valenzuela After Costly Error