Jonathan Davis made his first at-bat of the season count, driving a two-run homer to left in the second inning Tuesday and that was all the Toronto Blue Jays needed to hold off the skidding New York Yankees, 2-1, at Sahlen Field.
Davis hit 15 home runs over the last two years for the Buffalo Bisons but spent most of his time this season at Toronto's Alternate Training Site in Rochester. Called up when Teoscar Hernandez hurt an oblique, Davis made like the club home run leader by turning on a pitch from Yankees starter J.A. Happ.
Hernandez celebrated in the stands, arms in the air, as Davis circled the bases with his third home run for the Blue Jays the last two seasons.
"I really wanted to just square the ball up honestly and have a good at-bat for the team," Davis said. "... I said I was just going to put the ball in play. I put a good swing on it and good things happened. When I hit it, I knew I hit it good. I didn't know where it would land but I knew I got it pretty well."
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Davis had a positive Covid-19 test during spring training (he had only mild symptoms), and his daughter was born in February with lung issues. So he admitted the home run had deeper meaning. His teammates knew it, too, mobbing him in the dugout.
"It was a party. That's the best way I could describe it," Davis said. "It was like it was my birthday. They celebrated and it was awesome."
Five Toronto pitchers made it stand up, combining on a five-hitter. The Blue Jays improved to 24-18 with their third straight win. The Yankees (21-21) have lost five straight and are at .500 in September for the first time since 1995. Happ fanned 10 in a losing effort.
Instant Impact 💣@3_JonathanDavis homers in his FIRST at-bat of 2020! pic.twitter.com/wwbnr6opoJ
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 8, 2020
'Savage' man behind plate
The plate umpire in Tuesday's game was Brennan Miller, the target of manager Aaron Boone's viral "my guys are savages in the box" rant last season in Yankee Stadium. It was the first Yankees game Miller had called balls and strikes since that game. Boone said he had no conversations here Monday with Miller, who was working first base, but revealed he called Miller last year the day after video of their confrontation gleaned from a YES Network hot mic spread through social media.
"Somewhat of an apology," Boone admitted. "I never want to disparage anyone. Those things usually aren't personal for me. A little bit of a product of a hot mic I didn't expect that made it as big a deal as it was. My message was this was never personal, I don't want to disparage you. I think he was appreciative that I called and I felt we had a good conversation."
Around the horn
• Blue Jays outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was named American League Player of the Week after hitting .467 (14 for 30) for the period ending Sunday with five runs scored, three doubles, two home runs, six RBIs, three walks and a .767 slugging percentage across eight games. He ranked first in the AL in hits (14) and total bases (23), tied for second in extra-base hits (5) and third in batting average.
• The series wraps up Wednesday at 6:37 (YES Network) with Toronto's Tanner Roark (2-1) meeting New York rookie Deivi Garcia (0-1). It's the final game of a stretch that has seen the Blue Jays play 28 games in 27 days. They are off Thursday and open a three-game set against the New York Mets here Friday night.
