Julian Merryweather shines bright for Blue Jays on MLB’s opening day

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Julian Merryweather did his best to soak it all in as he warmed up in the Blue Jays bullpen late Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. The sights were surely great, but what he enjoyed most was the way New York fans serenaded him with all their customary couth. As one would imagine, nary a single impolite adjective was hurled.

He is 29 and this was his first opening day in the show. A guy whose career path to the bigs has included stints with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, Lake County Captains, Lynchburg Hillcats and Akron RubberDucks appreciates Bronx jeers.

“Once I was out there, all the nerves and adrenalin combined and I got caught up in the moment,” Merryweather says. “It was like a Little League dream.”

Added to Toronto’s roster only hours earlier, he struck out the side in the 10th inning to secure the Blue Jays’ 3-2 victory. Ten of 11 pitches Merryweather threw were strikes, the first eight included. He bounced the ninth in the dirt well shy of home plate, but quickly thereafter recorded his first major-league save. The contest concluded with him blowing a 99-mile-an-hour fastball past Gleyber Torres. Before him, Merryweather froze Aaron Hicks with an 80 mph changeup and got Giancarlo Stanton to wave feebly at another near-100 mph dart.

“It was just surreal,” Merryweather says.

His performance put an exclamation point on a triumph that was fashioned with pitching and air-tight defence. Randal Grichuk drove in the winning run with a double in the top of the 10th, and earlier Teoscar Hernandez blasted a 437-foot home run to forge a 2-2 tie. But at least on Day 1 of 162, it wasn’t the big bats that deserved the most accolades.

In the fifth inning, second baseman Marcus Semien made a diving stop and threw out DJ LeMahieu at first with two out and two runners on base. With the sacks loaded and one out in the seventh, third baseman Cavan Biggio nabbed a sharp grounder by Aaron Judge to start an around-the-horn double play. When all seemed hopeless, Biggio threw out a runner at home with one out in the ninth.

“Our defence was outstanding,” said Charlie Montoyo, the Blue Jays’ manager. “It is good to see that the hard work we put in during spring training carried over into opening day. It was the best spring I have ever seen when it comes to people working hard.”

It was a blustery beginning to the season, with temperatures in the single digits and strong northeast winds whipping flags high above the outfield stands. There was only a small crowd on hand because of safety measures related to COVID-19, and many wore mittens and donned tuques to go with their masks.

Still, it was the first time spectators were allowed at Yankee Stadium since the 2019 American League Championship Series.

The game featured two strong performances from starting pitchers Gerrit Cole of New York and Hyun-jin Ryu of Toronto. Both allowed two runs and exited after 5 1/3 innings.

The Blue Jays strung three singles together for a run off Cole in the top of the second, and then Hernandez walloped a hanging slider off him into the left field stands in the sixth. Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, who hit only .147 last year, roughed up Ryu with a two-run, 407-foot homer in the second inning.

Both bullpens did yeoman’s work. Merryweather was the last of five Toronto relievers, while Nick Nelson, who was charged with the loss, was the Yankees’ fourth.

Among them, Rafael Dolis, winning pitcher Jordan Romano and Merryweather struck out seven over the last three innings.

Toronto got three hits from Hernandez and two from Grichuk, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reached base three times on a single and two walks. Sanchez and Clint Frazier had two hits each for New York.

The Blue Jays made a number of personnel moves before the game. Outfielder George Springer and pitchers Robbie Ray, Nate Pearson and Thomas Hatch were placed on the 10-day injured list. Pitcher Tim Mayza and infielder Joe Panik were added to the roster. Joel Payamps, another pitcher, was recalled to the major leagues from the team’s alternate training site. Pitchers Travis Bergen and Anthony Kay were optioned to the training site.

Catcher Reese McGuire and infielder Breyvic Valera were designated for assignment.

The team began the season carrying 14 pitchers, two catchers, six infielders and four outfielders. The five-man taxi squad consists of Bergen, Kay, catcher Riley Adams, infielder Santiago Espinal and pitcher Tommy Milone.

Ross Stripling will start for Toronto in the second game of the series on Saturday with Corey Kluber getting the nod for New York.

Merryweather suffered a back injury early in spring training and only secured a roster position at the last minute. In 2018, he underwent Tommy John surgery, then was limited to only six minor-league innings in 2019 because of another arm issue and came down with tendinitis after a call-up in September to Toronto.

He had pitched only 13 innings in the major leagues before he shut the door on the Yankees on opening day.

“We knew if he was healthy he could pitch for us anywhere in a game and anytime,” Montoyo said. “He has the stuff to do what he did today.”

Merryweather had never pitched in a big-league game with fans in attendance. “It was definitely weird,” he said. ”When I got to the ballpark I asked, ‘What are all these people doing here.’”

In Thursday’s aftermath, his mother tried to call him five times. “She’s freaking out,” he said.

He was excited as he watched the game develop from the bullpen. “It was awesome,” he said. “I was on the edge of my seat.” The only thing better was pitching on opening day.

“I am looking forward to the rest of the year with these guys,” he said.