TORONTO – Some Major League Baseball players can be offended if the opposing team intentionally walked the 2 hitters ahead of them to load the bases in extra innings.
But not Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk. He was philosophical about it.
Kirk’s RBI single within the tenth inning accomplished Toronto’s comeback for a 7-6 win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. He’d also hit a solo home run as a part of a three-run sixth inning because the Blue Jays erased a 6-0 deficit.
The sunshine-hitting catcher — Kirk is hitting .239 on the season even after going 2 for five on Wednesday — got here to the plate with the bases loaded after Red Sox manager Alex Cora decided to walk George Springer and Daulton Varsho to load the bases after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. began the inning on second.
“Obviously, you get some motivation, but that’s the secret,” said Kirk through translator Hector “Tito” Lebron. “That’s their decision, the way in which that they walked the 2 guys in front of me.
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“I just was ready for my at bat and I got here through.”
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Kirk’s single to centre field scored Guerrero and brought his teammates streaming on to the sphere out of the house dugout at Rogers Centre. The win ended Toronto’s three-game skid.
It also accomplished a rally began by Varsho’s two-run homer within the sixth, immediately followed by Kirk’s solo shot. Anthony Santander’s three-run blast within the seventh tied the sport 6-6 and compelled extra innings for the Blue Jays (14-16).
“Oh, that was lots of emotion right there,” said Santander of his fourth homer of the season. “I feel great because to tie the sport right there, in that situation late in the sport, put the team in a superb position to win the ball game.”
Toronto had gone 11 games without scoring greater than 4 runs in a single outing until Santander’s homer. Even with the seven-run outing on Wednesday, the Blue Jays have scored the fifth fewest runs in MLB this season.
“A win like this may do rather a lot for you,” said Toronto manager John Schneider. “I believe it brings guys together and if you’re going through slightly little bit of a troublesome stretch, you’re waiting for something like this.
“Sometimes it takes something like this to get you going.”
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES — Eric Lauer was called up from the triple-A Buffalo Bisons late Tuesday night to assist shore up the Blue Jays’ rotation.
The one problem? He was scheduled to start out for the Bisons against the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines on Wednesday afternoon.
“Got up pretty early this morning and took a pair flights, came about noonish, took a solid nap and got here straight to the clubhouse and was able to rock,” said Lauer, who gave up two runs over 4 innings of labor against the Red Sox.
It was Lauer’s first MLB appearance since 2023 when he was a starter for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Lauer’s addition to Toronto’s roster was needed because the Blue Jays are currently with out a fifth pitcher within the rotation. Wednesday had already been designated a bullpen day by Schneider with reliever Yariel Rodriguez pitching the primary inning before giving option to Lauer.
The 29-year-old Lauer had a 4-6 record with a 6.56 earned-run average in 2023 for the Brewers, striking out 43 over 46 2/3 innings.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
