Aaron Sanchez of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch in the third inning during MLB game action against the Boston Red Sox on May 8, 2015 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox was a no-show for Friday night's game at Rogers Centre, paying his penance of a one-game suspension for bumping with an umpire back in April.
This was a positive development as far as the Toronto Blue Jays were concerned. They did not have to worry about a masher who, with a career total of 37 home runs and 69 runs batted in at Rogers Centre, has treated the Jays' home park as if it were his personal playpen.
Toronto manager John Gibbons was further contented by the news that the Jose Reyes's broken rib has finally mended.
The brittle shortstop, who has missed the past 10 games recovering from the injury, will be eligible to come off the disabled list on Wednesday, when the Blue Jays are in Baltimore to play the Orioles.
So the vibes were very positive for the local side, as the Red Sox staggered into town for the first of a three-game series mired in last place in the American League East, with pitching problems politely described as disconcerting.
And the Blue Jays (15-15) were able to feed off it all, using the long ball to support another solid effort from right-hander Aaron Sanchez (3-2) to seize a satisfying 7-0 win over Boston (13-16).
Sanchez went seven-plus innings, his longest start since he was converted into a starter at the beginning of this season, and allowed just two hits in turning aside the Red Sox.
It marked the first time this season that a Toronto starter has gone at least five innings without giving up an earned run.
It wasn't all smooth sailing for the 22-year-old, who came into the game leading the AL in walks. Sanchez added another five to that total on Friday night.
But he was helped out by some solid defensive work – none better than the gem shortstop Ryan Goins came up with in the seventh. Goins dove to his left to snare a ground ball up the middle by Allen Craig from behind second base. From one knee he then made a perfect throw to first to nab the Boston runner by a fraction of an inch.
Gibbons seemed at ease before the game, his mood no doubt lifted by the news about Reyes, who began some light baseball activities on Friday, including hitting off a tee in the batting cage.
With lefty Wade Miley (1-4) getting the start for the Red Sox, Gibbons opted to give the left-handed bat of outfielder Michael Saunders another day off to rest his left knee, which is still a bit sore after surgery in spring training to repair a torn meniscus. The outfielder had the knee drained earlier in the week, along with a cortisone shot.
And a bulky knee brace that Saunders detests (and discarded while playing in Boston last week) will now be part of his daily equipment. Saunders said that, when he was rehabbing the knee in Florida before he returned to the Blue Jays late last month, he asked his trainers when he might be able to ditch the knee hardware.
"They said usually after an 0-for-5 with a couple of punch-outs," Saunders said.
With Saunders out, Gibbons was able to keep newcomer Chris Colabello in the lineup for another day in right field – and why not? In Colabello's first two games since getting called up from Triple-A Buffalo, all he'd done was go six-for-eight at the plate.
After Josh Donaldson lifted his seventh home run of the year in the first inning to give the Blue Jays the early lead, Colabello followed suit in the second with a solo shot of his own.
The Blue Jays tagged on two more runs in the sixth, starting with Danny Valencia, whose single to centre field scored Edwin Encarnacion from second base, and the rout was on.
Before the game, the Blue Jays made yet another roster move, optioning Chad Jenkins back to Buffalo and calling up Ryan Tepera in a swap of relievers.
Tepera, 27, was a 2009 draft choice by the Blue Jays, so he has been waiting a long time to get called up to the big leagues. He said he was informed of the move Thursday night in a telephone call in Norfolk, Va., where the Bisons were staying in advance of Friday's game against the Tides.
"Not what you picture," Tepera said of the moment. "You think about the day you're going to get called up. And you think you're going to get called into the manager's office and he's going to go, 'Hey, son, you're going to the big leagues.'
"It was a little different getting the phone call. But hey, it was awesome."