Monster debut! Blue Jays prospect homers in first AB

BOSTON -- In the ultimate “welcome to the big leagues” moment, on the day he was called up to the Blue Jays, in his very first Major League at-bat at the age of 24, Davis Schneider homered into the back row of Green Monster seats at Fenway Park.

It would factor in as one of five home runs for the Blue Jays, who won 7-3 for their first victory in their eighth meeting with Boston this season. In a crucial clash of AL Wild Card contenders, Toronto increased its lead to three games over the Red Sox for the final spot.

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“I was smiling the whole way around the bases into the dugout,” Schneider said as he tried to put the moment into words following the game.

The first big league hit for the Blue Jays second baseman, a solo shot that had an exit velocity of 106.2 mph, came in the second inning on a 1-1 pitch from left-hander James Paxton -- a native Canadian -- and gave the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead.

“Wow, what a moment for him,” manager John Schneider said. “I wish everyone across Canada could have been in our dugout at that point. That was special for him, the team. You can’t really draw it up much better than that.”

“I’m going to tell my kids about that, forever,” said Toronto starter Alek Manoah, who picked up the win after scattering three runs and six hits over 6 2/3 innings. “I’m super happy for him.”

After naming him the starting second baseman for the series opener, Schneider -- the manager -- called the 2017 28th-round Draft pick, “the typical Minor League success story.”

Following the game, the Blue Jays skipper explained why the club's No. 28 prospect was able to do what he did in his first at-bat: “He’s got a good plan. He understands what pitchers are trying to do. He understands what he’s good at. … It’s a very consistent approach, it’s patient and he’s aggressive. It’s a really cool success story.”

Schneider, the player, gave Toronto no choice but to call him up after slugging his way through Triple-A with 21 home runs and 64 RBIs over 87 games. He also has been lauded for his patient approach at the plate, evident in his 72 walks and .416 on-base percentage with Buffalo.

“I know I’m not the biggest guy or the best power hitter, but I believe I’ve got a good eye, I’m patient, I know what I can do,” Schneider said prior to his debut.

The five home runs by the Blue Jays tied for most in a game this season for the club (April 11 vs. Detroit). In the process, Schneider became just the fourth player in Toronto history to homer in his first big league at-bat, joining Al Woods (1977), Junior Felix (1989) and J.P. Arencibia (2010), according to the club.

Schneider would finish his debut with a 2-for-5 effort, showing off another tool with his speed in the seventh inning, beating out an infield single to second base.

“He’s kind of a dirtbag,” the Blue Jays' manager said. “He does things like that, and he does things like his first at-bat.”

It took a full arsenal of tools for Davis Schneider to prove he was worthy of getting called up, and he wasted no time in putting most of it on display in his debut.

“I didn’t think this day was possible,” he said. “You wish it and you think it’ll come true, but I never really thought it would happen. I just wanted to get a quality at-bat in my first at-bat. I didn’t expect anything like that to happen.”