Jays leave excuses behind to get home schedule started in style

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Much has happened since the Blue Jays had previously played a game at the Rogers Centre back in October.

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There was a playoff disaster in Minnesota that risked tearing apart a clubhouse and infuriated an already antsy fan base.

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There was an off-season where hope soared in the pursuit of Shohei Ohtani only to fizzle into frustration in the aftermath of the failed bid.

There was accelerated anger at a front office that made vague promises of everything being OK despite a starkly underwhelming effort at improving the roster over the winter.

And then there was a sometimes sloppy, other times lifeless 4-6 road trip to start the season, marked by a labouring offence that looked far too familiar to last season’s modest producing group.

But home opener it was on Monday night for a beleaguered group of Jays with bags barely unpacked and trending towards desperation to make a strong impression despite the upheaval.

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What followed was much of what was promised during the spring in an impressive 5-2 win over the Seattle Mariners that both christened the renovated Rogers Centre and offered a peak at what this team can bring on its good nights.

While there was clearly some frustration with that rugged road start, especially from an offence that had failed to ignite, apparently there is enough maturity and patience in the clubhouse to stay the course.

“I think if we’re worried about the start of the season after 10 games then we lack an incredible amount of confidence,” said shortstop Bo Bichette, often a voice of reason. “And I don’t think that’s the case. We’re just looking forward to better things ahead.”

Perhaps fittingly then, Bichette was a significant part of a third inning that was a snapshot of just the type of offence the team promised it would be during spring training. A leadoff infield single from Vlad Guerrero Jr. was a followed by a Bichette double, a Justin Turner walk and a Davis Schneider double.

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Instant offence and when combined with a run the previous inning, a feel-good 3-0 lead.

It there was a persistent lament from the team last year it was that the Jays could never make things easy on themselves, piling up runs for comfortable leads rather than sweating out one-run game after one-run game.

So when Guerrero lashed out a two-run double in the fourth to drive in another run, the Jays were doing some of the things they promised.

“It’s nice to get those add-on runs,” manager John Schneider said. “It definitely lets you exhale a little bit.”

Look, this team still has plenty of proving to do yet and it will be, to use one of general manager Ross Atkins’ favourite words, a process. Sometimes it will be arduous (like much of the opening road trip) and sometimes it will be efficient like Monday, when superb starting pitching from Jose Berrios was complemented by timely hitting and slick defence.

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“We’re exceptionally confident that this group is going to score plenty of runs,” Atkins said. “And I’m looking forward to the days ahead.”

So are his players, who were displaced by the renovations that, let’s face it, almost felt like they were taking top billing to the actual game this week. Don’t buy any of the bunk that you’ve heard about opening the season with a 10-game road trip heaped onto seven weeks of spring training as anything but a grinding nuisance.

Justin Turner, whose second-inning double led to him scoring the first run on Monday, said it was 10 games that felt like a month.

Another player told us that having to come to Toronto after the roadie ended on Sunday in Manhattan without an off day to at least get settled was “ridiculous.” Players may have liked their new digs — even as they were getting used to them — but they weren’t pleased about how the timing played out.

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“It felt like continued spring training, a lot of extra baggage to take with us, a lot of extra stuff going on,” third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa said. “It was tough not being able to get to Toronto to set up apartments, but no excuses.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to win some ball games. We’re excited to get back in front of our fans and get going.”

They certainly devised a way on Monday, belting out 11 hits, scoring in each of innings two through four and never in any doubt of getting the home portion of the schedule started on the right foot.

They were crisp on defence — second baseman Cavan Biggio and centre fielder Kevin Kiermaier with a couple of big plays that stood out — and a terrific effort from starter Berrios, who allowed four hits over 6.2 shutout innings as his team improved to 5-6.

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“He’s locating really well and his breaking ball was pretty elite today,” Schneider said. “He’s in total control of everything he’s doing right now. It comes down to executing and he’s doing it at a really high level.”

Of course when Schneider came to end the starter’s night (justifiable after 101 pitches) many among the sellout crowd of 40,069 booed the manager, much of that no doubt a nod to the playoff hook of Berrios as opposed to the opening night version.

If that was just a fan base getting some frustration off of its collective chest, so be it. But it could also be reflective of a mindset in which those same fans have put up with enough under-achieving over the previous two seasons.

On Monday, the Jays did their part in directing the narrative. Just as a poor 10-game road trip won’t define a season, one impressive home win won’t, either.

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But for a weary group of Jays forced to get their bearings on the run, it was an impressive stride in the right direction.

“That was great and it starts on the mound,” Schneider said following the game. “Jose was awesome. Huge at-bats. Tacking on runs. Bo and Vlad doing their thing. Great defence as well. That was a complete ball game.”

AROUND THE BASES

The Jays have now won four of their past five home openers and are 30-18 overall in that department … The Jays have yet to win a series this season but are 3-1 in openers. Starter Chris Bassitt could help them change that with a win here on Tuesday night … The good pitching and defence formula is a big one for the Jays — in all five of their wins they’ve held their opponents to two runs or fewer this year … Berrios is trending towards ace territory after the latest win, lowering this ERA to 1.45 through three starts … The clutch gene is clearly a part of Davis Schneider, who drove in a par of runs with a single in the third inning. His first four hits of the season have all brought in at least one run (including his two homers.) … The Jays could be catching a struggling M’s outfit that has now dropped five of its past six games.

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