The Toronto Blue Jays are in first place in the American League East due in large part to their dominant play at Rogers Centre.
That said, the Blue Jays made themselves at home in Denver on Monday night with a 15-1 romp over the Colorado Rockies in the opener of a three-game series.
Toronto will have a chance to clinch the series on Tuesday night when it sends Jose Berrios (7-4, 3.84 ERA) to the mound against Colorado’s Anthony Molina (0-0, 7.27) in a battle of right-handers.
Molina allowed one run on three hits in an inning in relief last season in his lone career appearance against the Blue Jays.
Berrios has faced the Rockies twice in his career, winning both starts over 14 2/3 shutout innings. Tuesday will be his first time pitching in Colorado, and he can build off Eric Lauer’s start in Monday’s victory.
Lauer was 0-6 with a 12.73 ERA in seven starts in Denver before allowing just one run over six innings on Monday night.
Beating the Rockies in the opener was a positive sign for the Blue Jays, who had lost four of their last five games on the road and are 28-29 away from home. (They are 38-19 at home.)
Monday’s victory also gave the Blue Jays just their third win in the last nine games overall and comes after they dropped two of three games against Kansas City.
“This group is so good at turning the page to the next day,” Toronto manager John Schneider said after Sunday’s 7-4 loss in 10 innings to the Royals. “That’s, I think, one of the many reasons why we are where we are.”
Colorado won its third straight home series by taking two of three games from Pittsburgh but needs at least one victory against Toronto to avoid a losing record on the homestand. The Rockies also need to get off to better starts; they’ve trailed by at least four runs in each of the last four games.
“We’ve been down early, especially in the first inning,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. “That’s not a good recipe for longevity in a season. We need better performances out of our starters.”
One of the sparks for the recent surge has been 23-year-old rookie Warming Bernabel, who made his major league debut and has been hitting ever since. He has hit safely in eight of the nine games he has played in and started his career with a seven-game hitting streak.
His hot start earned him National League Player of the Week honors after he batted .462 with two home runs and seven RBIs. Bernabel has become the everyday first baseman after Michael Toglia struggled and was optioned to Triple-A for a second time.
“It’s a very good thing, competition — it’s a good thing when you have a guy like Bernabel that came up here and basically earned a spot,” Schaeffer said. “That’s what you want, especially in a team in our situation. You want guys to force their hand and earn a spot. Then guys that lose their spot, they need to go to work and get better so they can come back and get their spot back.”
–Field Level Media
