Trey Yesavage struck out nine to set a Blue Jays record for a major league debut, and George Springer hit a tiebreaking single in the 11th inning as Toronto beat the hometown Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 on Monday night to open a five-game American League East lead behind their fifth straight win.
Yesavage, a 22-year-old right-hander taken 20th overall in last year’s amateur draft, allowed one run, three hits and two walks in five innings, throwing 49 of 69 pitches for strikes. He averaged 94.6 miles per hour with 32 fastballs and threw 19 splitters and 18 sliders. Six of his strikeouts were on splitters, and he induced 19 swings and misses.
With family from Boyertown, Pa., and former Dunedin teammates in the stands, Yesavage gave up a leadoff single to Chandler Simpson and an RBI double to Diaz in the first, then retired 15 of his next 18 batters. He struck out the side in the fourth.
His father, Dave, fought off tears as he watched from the stands.
Springer hit a two-out, two-strike single in the 11th off Kevin Kelly (2-4), helping Toronto improve to 10-4 in extra-inning games.
Rookie Braydon Fisher (7-0) got six outs. He allowed Yandy Diaz’s leadoff single in the 11th, which put runners at the corners, then struck out Brandon Lowe, Junior Caminero and Josh Lowe. The Rays struck out 18 times, their most since 23 against Arizona on Aug. 28, 2019.
Jose Berrios (9-5, 3.99) takes the mound for the Blue Jays on Tuesday night in a 7:35 p.m. ET start.
Bichette might DH in return from injury
Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette sought a second opinion Monday on his injured knee and could initially return to the lineup at designated hitter.
Sidelined since Sept. 7 with a sprained left knee, Bichette was in Dallas on Monday afternoon getting examined by Dr. Dan Cooper. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said there was nothing new to report, and the appointment was simply part of the recovery process.
“It doesn’t change our thinking,” Schneider said Monday. “It gives him and us some clarity.”
The 27-year-old Bichette, a two-time all-star, was injured Sept. 6 on a play at home plate against the Yankees and landed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Sept. 7.
The Blue Jays have stressed patience, but Schneider acknowledged Bichette could return at DH before he’s ready to play defence.
“In a perfect world, if he can come back and play short, great,” Schneider said. “We’ll see how this goes. With how he’s moving, it seems to me that hitting will be a little bit in front of everything else. I think we’ll know more tomorrow or the next day, but if we can get his bat back, hell yeah, I’ll take that.”
Bichette was having a strong season before the injury, batting .311 with 18 home runs, 94 runs batted in and an .840 on-base-plus slugging percentage in 139 games. He leads the majors in hits (181) and doubles (44).
Bichette, who can become a free agent after the World Series this year, is the son of former major league slugger Dante Bichette.
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