Bautista's offense not affected by injury

CLEVELAND -- Jose Bautista says it's "physically impossible" for him to throw a baseball at the present juncture.

Though he doesn't seem to be hindered at the plate.

Bautista went 2-for-5 with a double, four RBIs and a run scored in Saturday's 11-4 victory at Cleveland. Bautista was serving as the team's designated hitter for the sixth consecutive night, after missing five games due to a sore shoulder.

Manager John Gibbons said before Saturday's game that he'd hoped Bautista could resume throwing by Sunday or Monday.

Bautista didn't paint as pretty a picture.

"I don't know," Bautista said with a shrug after being asked when he expected to resume throwing. "It's getting better, but I don't know when I can throw a baseball. It's frustrating, but what can I do? It's physically impossible for me to throw a baseball right now."

Though the injury hasn't appeared to affect Bautista too much at the plate, it's having a trickle-down effect on the rest of the Blue Jays' lineup. Edwin Encarnacion, a poor defender, is forced out of his DH role and onto the field at first base. Justin Smoak, and his hot bat, are forced to the bench.

"Well, yeah, it would [be nice to get] Smoak back in there," Gibbons said. "And he's been swinging pretty good, too. And we know he's real good defensively. It doesn't mean he'd be in there every day, but it keeps him working and somewhat sharp."