Kirk motivated by walks ahead of him, lifts Jays to slump-busting win
Published
TORONTO - Some Major League Baseball players would be offended if the opposing team intentionally walked the two 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 in the 10th inning completed Toronto's comeback for a 7-6 win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. He'd also hit a solo home run as part of a three-run sixth inning as the Blue Jays erased a 6-0 deficit.
The light-hitting catcher — Kirk is hitting .239 on the season even after going 2 for 5 on Wednesday — came 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. started the inning on second.
"Obviously, you get some motivation, but that's the name of the game," said Kirk through translator Hector "Tito" Lebron. "That's their decision, the way that they walked the two guys in front of me.
"I just was ready for my at bat and I came through."
Kirk's single to centre field scored Guerrero and brought his teammates streaming on to the field out of the home dugout at Rogers Centre. The win ended Toronto's three-game skid.
It also completed a rally started by Varsho's two-run homer in the sixth, immediately followed by Kirk's solo shot. Anthony Santander's three-run blast in the seventh tied the game 6-6 and forced extra innings for the Blue Jays (14-16).
"Oh, that was a lot of emotion right there," said Santander of his fourth homer of the season. "I feel great because to tie the game right there, in that situation late in the game, put the team in a good position to win the ball game."
Toronto had gone 11 games without scoring more than four 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 can do a lot for you," said Toronto manager John Schneider. "I think it brings guys together and when you're going through a little bit of a tough 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 help shore up the Blue Jays' rotation.
The only problem? He was scheduled to start for the Bisons against the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines on Wednesday afternoon.
"Got up pretty early this morning and took a couple flights, got here about noonish, took a solid nap and came straight to the clubhouse and was ready to rock," said Lauer, who gave up two runs over four innings of work 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 necessary as the Blue Jays are currently without a fifth pitcher in the rotation. Wednesday had already been designated a bullpen day by Schneider with reliever Yariel Rodriguez pitching the first inning before giving way 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.