TORONTO -- In the fourth inning of the Rays’ 8-5 win over the Blue Jays on Monday night at Rogers Centre, Chandler Simpson hit a ball that bounced three feet in front of home plate.
He turned that into a run, as perhaps only he can.
“I think the whole league is on notice with what he's able to bring to the opposing team,” Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda said through interpreter Kevin Vera after the Rays improved to 27-13. “Thankfully, he's on our team.”
After Jays starter Kevin Gausman recorded the 2,000th and 2,001st strikeouts of his impressive career to begin the fourth, Simpson fouled off three pitches and took four more to work a full count. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Simpson hit a chopper just in front of the plate that bounced to Gausman’s left.
First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. moved to field the ball, and Simpson beat Gausman in a foot race to the bag, reaching a top sprint speed of 31.6 feet per second, according to Statcast.
“We all got a chuckle when he got to first base, like just how fast he gets down the line,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I don't know what the time was, but it looked really fast. I think both teams were sitting there saying, ‘Wow.’”
Then, Simpson was off to the races.
With Junior Caminero at the plate, Simpson’s presence on the basepaths forced Gausman to commit a disengagement violation that advanced the speedster to second base. Not being held at second with two outs, Simpson dashed to third and beat catcher Brandon Valenzuela’s throw standing up for his 14th steal of the season.
“He took advantage of it, and that's a lot for a catcher to throw down there when it's bang-bang,” Cash said.
Valenzuela’s late throw sailed past a diving Kazuma Okamoto and into left field, allowing Simpson to scamper home and give the Rays a 6-3 lead.
After a three-hit game that boosted his average to .314, Simpson’s speed once again left his teammates in awe.
“He's awesome,” starter Drew Rasmussen said. “Speed's a really good skill to have. How you develop it, I don't know. I mean, might just be blessed. It's really cool.
“We actually were talking about it in the dugout, in the moment, where it's just kind of [saying] thank God he's on our team, because as an opposing pitcher, it's hard to deal with. And the bat-to-ball ability also makes it frustrating, because you're going to have a ball in play by the end of the at-bat, and then after that, all heck breaks loose -- and there's not really a whole lot you can do about it.”
Added Aranda: “With his speed, he can kind of create those weird situations for the opposing team or kind of cause errors. It's really great to have him on this team, and it's important that we keep him on base.”
And it’s important that the Rays keep him on the field, which is why they took him out of the game after he hobbled out of the batter’s box on an eighth-inning groundout. Simpson was replaced in left field by Jonny DeLuca due to what the Rays described as left leg cramping.
Cash said Simpson will likely be out of the lineup on Tuesday night against left-hander Patrick Corbin, but the Rays were encouraged by his initial testing in the trainer’s room.
“I think it might have just been a cramp more than anything. Right now, strength is really good,” Cash said. “But from all the reports, [it] sounds really good.”