TORONTO -- When’s the last time you could watch a Blue Jays win while breathing easily through the late innings?
Jesús Sánchez launched his first career grand slam, an exclamation point on a six-run sixth inning for the Blue Jays in an 8-1 win over the Marlins at Rogers Centre. This is the type of win Toronto has desperately needed, a rare opportunity to coast through the finish line instead of another photo finish.
Outside of the big inning, this is what mattered most from the Blue Jays’ win:
HIGH AND DEEP: Ernie Clement
Clement has never seen a pitch he doesn’t think he could get a bat on. Somewhere in the family tree, there must be a relation to Vladimir Guerrero Sr.
When Clement launched a home run in the second inning -- his second in as many games -- it came on a pitch well up and above the strike zone. This pitch from Sandy Alcantara was 3.76 feet off the ground, making it the highest pitch that Alcantara has ever allowed a home run on, but this is old news for Clement.
He’s hit multiple home runs in his career on pitches over four feet off the ground. Even for a six-foot-tall hitter, by the time they get into their stance and swing, anything above four feet is putting the ball awfully close to eye level. Back in 2024 against the Angels, Clement hit a home run on a pitch 4.60 feet off the ground, an absurd number that’s still surprising when you watch the replay back. On pitches thrown over 80 mph, which essentially removes some oddball instances with position players pitching, that was the second-highest pitch hit for a home run in the Statcast era (since 2015),
This all has very little to do with baseball -- as no hitting coach on the planet would advise swinging at these pitches -- and everything to do with Clement’s natural athleticism. Growing up playing hockey, golf, basketball and anything else he could get his hands on, Clement developed incredible hand-eye coordination.
BULKY: Miles shines again
Spencer Miles is the best story on this team, period. The Rule 5 pick was once a longshot to make the roster, but already he’s one of the most important pitchers the Blue Jays have, saving this rotation from a depth nightmare.
Miles gave Toronto another 4 1/3 innings of one-run bulk relief behind Braydon Fisher, which seems like the Blue Jays’ favorite combo for this rotation spot.
“He’s having a good little run right now,” manager John Schneider said. “I think he’s trusting his stuff more and more every time he goes out there. He’s pretty reliable right now.”
Eventually, we’ll be calling Miles a starter, and if he can stick in that role in 2027 and beyond, it’s going to be incredibly valuable to a team in need of legitimate big league rotation pieces. For now, we can keep calling him the bulk guy, but he’s just as important as any of the Blue Jays’ starters.
“You can always surprise yourself a little bit,” Miles said. “But with a clean bill of health, I always knew I was capable. I just continue to use the skills that the good man upstairs gave me, then continue to throw strike one.”
REDEMPTION: Piñango bounces back
One night after Yohendrick Piñango singlehandedly made a mess of an inning for the Blue Jays, missing two makeable catches in left field which cost Trey Yesavage three runs, he atoned for his sins.
Piñango launched his second home run of the season in Tuesday’s win, and like any ball Piñango barrels up, it was a scorching liner that just never came down. This won’t erase Monday’s defensive mistakes, but early Tuesday afternoon, Piñango was one of the first Blue Jays out on the field taking fly balls.
“A learning moment, for sure,” Schneider said. “He’s working on it. He’s been working on his outfield, and he works on it every day. It’s give-and-take at times. At the plate, he’s been more than fine. You’ve got to play the whole game.”
Piñango doesn’t need to win a Gold Glove Award. As a prospect, his defensive reports were never the strongest, but all he needs to do is avoid the major mistakes. If we don’t have a reason to talk about his defense the next day, that’s good enough, and it will allow his bat to shine.