ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Justin Turner was out on the driving range and appeared to be looking through his bag.
The first iron hit was a looping single into the left field seats, giving the Blue Jays the victory. Then he reached for his 3-wood and hit a line drive over the left-field wall with the bases loaded and brought home two more runs.
But we all know why we go to the driving range. That's because they want you to hit it with a big stick.
In his third at-bat, Turner hit his first home run in a Blue Jays uniform, soaring down the path of a single and a double. Everything seemed so calm, intentional, and contained.
Coming off a season where both timely hitting and power at times plagued the Blue Jays, Turner's performance was quite refreshing in the 9-2 victory that gave Toronto a series split.
“I try not to do too much and I understand the pressure is on the pitcher,” Turner said. “He has to pitch well, and—”
Suddenly, Victor Martinez, now with the Blue Jays as a special assistant, walked past Turner and the press swarmed around him, yelling, “There's the RBI machine!”
“…And it helps that Vic says I'm a scoring machine,” Turner continued with a smile. “Going to the plate with confidence is always a plus.”
Turner came to the Blue Jays with the reputation he earned over 15 seasons in the big leagues. He performed in key moments, posting career averages of .311, .396 on-base percentage and .891 OPS with runners in scoring position Sunday. With the bases loaded, he has a batting average of .333.
Clutch hitters are hard to define, even for those who know a lot about baseball, but there's a magic to it. If you do that for two seasons, it's easy to write it off as luck. Are you going to do more than 15 seasons? you are working on something.
“He stays calm even in those moments,” manager John Schneider said. “Whether you have runners in scoring position, in the postseason, whatever it is, it's important to have an approach and stick to it. A lot of times guys get a little too big. What he does every time I can see what you're trying to do.”
The rest of the game looked like they would be chasing Turner's lead. Davis Schneider hit his first home run of the season in his first start, another encouraging sign for a club looking to unleash as much power as possible, and the Blue Jays managed to inch away during that outburst.
The Blue Jays suffered two underwhelming losses in the middle, but the series-clinching win shows the offense can be even more dynamic than it was a year ago.
Offensive performances like this work almost any time, but Kevin Gausman has a lock behind him.
Gausman pitched dominantly through 4 1/3 innings, but his only drawback was that he hit a solo home run while striking out six. The day couldn't have gone much better for the Blue Jays, as the short day (69 pitches) was all part of the plan to recover from the shortened spring training.
Gausman knows Turner well from his time with the Giants and their rivalry with the Dodgers. He now wants Turner on his team.
“He always killed us and personally killed me too. I was never a big fan of him, to be honest,” Gausman said with a laugh. “But now he's on my team and I love the game he brings. I've always respected his play.
“He never gives up his bat, and he always has a plan. It was good for him to come out today and have a good day. He's in his groove.” [16th] Year. You don't get there by accident. He's a professional's professional. There's a lot of people in the clubhouse who really respect him. ”
The first four games of the season won't determine a team's success or failure, but they can give you some clues.
The Blue Jays spent much of the offseason and spring training talking about a better team approach, stronger hitting, and coming together to a simpler, simpler game plan. It's one thing to talk about, but it's quite another to actually see it play out on the field of a game that matters.
This happened twice in the 2-on-2 split, but Turner fits into the role the Blue Jays envisioned and should continue to do so.
