Bo Bichette’s first triple of the season clears bases to ignite Jays

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The hits keep coming for Daulton Varsho, while Yusei Kikuchi continues to be a hit on the mound.

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Ever since the Blue Jays completed their troublesome 4-6 road trip to start the regular season, they have been playing good baseball, even though the lineup hasn’t exactly been tearing the cover off the baseball.

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The Blue Jays took care of business at Rogers Centre with series win over Seattle, Colorado and the New York Yankees, and then headed west to play the San Diego Padres, and a fourth consecutive series was captured.

Monday at Kauffman Stadium, where the Jays started a four-game set against the host Kansas City Royals, the good times kept rolling.

Varsho’s two strikeouts earlier in the game were quickly dismissed when he went yard to give the Jays a 5-0 lead en route to a 5-3 win.

For the red-hot Varsho, it was his sixth long ball of the season and his 13th run knocked in, both team highs.

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His velvet glove and impeccable timing were in full display in left field in San Diego.

He was in centre field on Monday, once again at the centre of the action.

The centre of attention on this night was Kikuchi, who is slowly inching his way into the Jose Berrios class, at least for five innings on Monday. Kikuchi earned his second win of the season.

A questionable ruling by the official scorer provided the Royals with their first hit.

K.C. finally threatened in the home half of the sixth inning. There was no doubting a double by Dairon Blanco that not even Varsho could track down in the right-centre gap. It was followed by a no-doubt two-run home run deep into left field by Maikel Garcia,  as the Royals cut into the Jays’ lead.

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Another dubious sequence would be ruled a hit, K.C.’s fourth on the night, when in reality the Royals should have been credited with only two.

A two-strike double put runners at second and third, as the Royals suddenly had the tying run at the plate.

Kikuchi wasn’t as sharp following five solid innings, but in fairness the defence behind him was not good.

He got out of the inning on a groundout to short, where Bo Bichette fielded the ball cleanly and threw a strike over to first base to retire the side.

It was Bichette’s bases-clearing triple that gave the visitors their 3-0 lead.

Once Kikuchi’s night was officially in the books, it was up to Toronto’s bullpen to bring it home on the road.

Mission accomplished, as Markham’s Jordan Romano pitched the ninth inning to record his 100th career save. Romano became the fourth Canadian to reach the century save milestone. He did give up a two-out home run to Kyle Isbel.

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SINGER IN THE RAIN

Fans of a certain vintage should be familiar with Bill Singer, the right-hander who started in the Blue Jays’ inaugural game on April 7, 1977 when the visiting Chicago White Sox provided the opposition at the bandbox known as CNE Stadium.

Brady Singer started for the Royals Monday.

Much like his namesake, Brady Singer is a righty.

He’s also a throwback in terms of his delivery and presence on the mound.

Another redeeming quality to Singer’s style is he doesn’t waste much time between pitches.

The 6-foot-5 Singer doesn’t bring the heat, but he knows how to work the plate by mixing in his repertoire.

Oddly enough, Singer was taken by the Blue Jays in the second round (56th overall) in 2015.

An 18-year-old who had committed to the University of Florida, Singer and the Jays could not agree on a contract.

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Three years later, the Royals used their first-round pick (18th overall) to select Springer.

In the second inning Monday, Singer struck out Davis Schneider.

For Singer, it was his 500th career strike out in his 100th game.

He entered the night four strikeouts shy of setting a Royals franchise mark through 100 career games, a record held by Steve Busby, whom baseball fans may be familiar given Busby’s battery mate was none other than Buck Martinez.

Busby and outfielder Amos Otis were the first two players elected to the Royals Hall of Fame.

Trip down memory lane aside, the Jays got to Singer in the third inning when they loaded the bases.

With one out, Bichette stepped up to the plate and drilled a liner into the gap in right-centre to clear the bases.

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It was Bichette’s first triple of the season as the Jays took a 3-0 lead.

In winning the opening two games in San Diego, the Jays jumped out early, sparked by home runs from Justin Turner and Varsho.

Singer ended the third when Varsho struck out swinging, his second in as many at-bats.

Singer recorded his fourth K on the night when he struck out Cavan Biggio swinging in the top of the fourth inning.

In six complete innings, Singer gave up five runs, while recording five strikeouts.

ACHING ARMS

The big-league club has had to deal with pitching setbacks almost from the moment it gathered in Dunedin, site of the Jays’ spring training home.

The spate of injuries has also affected some of the team’s top prospects.

Prior to Monday’s opening pitch, the Jays provided medical updates on three such players.

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Firstly, Ricky Tiedemann, the team’s top prospect, is scheduled to visit team doctors in Toronto this week after the lefty was recently placed on the seven-day IL.

This week’s visit will determine what course of action is necessary for Tiedemann, who underwent an MRI on his pitching elbow that necessitated the stint on the injured list..

In other news, Brandon Barriera, the Jays’ first-round pick in 2022, is scheduled to see Dr. Keith Meister this week to evaluate his injured elbow.

Dr. Meister is an orthopedic surgeon in Texas known for his work with pitchers who require Tommy John surgery.

Finally, the team provided an update on right-hander Landen Maroudis, whom the Blue Jays picked in the fourth round of last year’s draft.

The 19-year-old is scheduled for an MRI on his forearm.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com

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