Blue Jays' bats on the upswing with Chappy's blast, big inning

MIAMI -- Apparently, all Matt Chapman needed to get hot was some time in the Florida heat.

Toronto’s third baseman, who started the season with a .384 average in his first 27 games (through the end of April), has majorly cooled off over the past two months.

But on Wednesday in Miami, Chapman found his power again. The All-Star infielder went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and a walk in the 6-3 finale win over the Marlins at loanDepot park.

Barely 12 hours prior, Chapman discussed what it would take for the Blue Jays to get back into a groove.

“We're not going to be able to go out there and just out-slug teams,” Chapman said after the Blue Jays' 2-0 victory on Tuesday. “It's hard when you have a lot of guys that maybe aren't swinging the bat the way they want to, you know? Your initial reaction is like -- you want to swing your way out of it or whatever it is. But really for us, I think we have to kind of, like, take a step back, really lock in on approach and take team at-bats and be able to string together good at-bats.”

On Wednesday, they did just that. It started with Chapman, who led off a five-run second inning with a hustle double -- his second two-bagger in as many days -- beating a tag attempt to give Toronto its first runner in scoring position.

Cavan Biggio followed with a double of his own, scoring Chapman. It was the Blue Jays’ first early lead of the series. Six batters reached base that inning as the entire lineup stepped to the plate against reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara.

“[Sandy's] arguably one of the best in the game and has an arsenal to match it,” said George Springer, who hit a two-run single and came around to score as part of the second-inning surge. “So for us just to string together some quality at-bats right there was huge.”

The quality at-bats continued, particularly for Chapman, who struck out on six pitches in the third after falling behind 1-2 but then walked on five pitches in the fifth.

Chapman’s night reached its peak -- quite literally -- with a no-doubt homer that led off the eighth inning. The long ball, his 10th of the season and his first since June 11, left Chapman’s bat at 111.9 mph and sailed a Statcast-projected 415 feet over the wall in left field.

“The last couple games in particular, [Chapman’s] kind of just being very selective and then at the same time being aggressive on pitches in the middle of the plate,” manager John Schneider said. “That's kind of the model we want everyone to follow -- being ready for your pitch, whether it's the first pitch or whether it comes, you know, a pitch or two later, and trying to do damage.”

The lead was nice for the team as a whole, of course -- especially given that the last time the Blue Jays pulled ahead early was before surrendering 11 runs and falling to the Rangers on Sunday. But for Kevin Gausman, who continued to expertly pitch around trouble while lasting into the seventh inning, the early lead was huge -- even if he tries not to think about it on the bump.

“You definitely don't expect it with Sandy on the mound,” Gausman said. “Those things are pretty rare to happen with him out there. So yeah, you’ve got to take advantage. As a starting pitcher, you’ve just got to feel like, even if you're up 10-0, you’ve got to treat it like it's 0-0.

“That's something I've been better at as my career's gone on, and being able to kind of not look at the scoreboard and just kind of stay locked in on my own job. But yeah, it's always huge when those guys give me early runs, for sure.”

Gausman tossed 100 pitches (72 strikes) over seven-plus innings (he gave up a pair of singles and hit a batter in the seventh without recording an out). He allowed just two baserunners through the first three innings, neither advancing past first base. Things broke down a bit in the fourth, when Gausman allowed a two-run double to Garrett Cooper, but he rallied, finishing with six strikeouts and just three runs allowed on eight hits, one walk and the hit batsman.

“I'd love to go nine innings every time,” Gausman said, “but you know, that's unrealistic.”

Obviously, it’s too early to consider Chapman or the Blue Jays’ comeback complete -- there’s still plenty of season left -- but the series win in Miami is a sign Toronto is trending in the right direction.