Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo was tipped off before Monday night’s 13-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox in downtown Buffalo that the largest crowd of the season would largely cheer for the visitors.
“It wasn’t a surprise because I went out for a run,” Montoyo said, “and all I saw was red jerseys. I said, ‘OK, it’s going to be a road game.’ And it turned out to be like that. It is what it is.”
The Blue Jays got a little help from Mother Nature to ensure a repeat performance didn’t occur Tuesday night. Toronto’s second-to-last game in Buffalo, against the Red Sox, was canceled because of thunderstorms, the team announced 15 minutes before the scheduled first pitch. The game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Saturday, Aug. 7 at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
The Blue Jays, granted permission by the Canadian government to return to their home ballpark for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, will play their final game in Buffalo against the Red Sox on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m.
People are also reading…
Those who purchased tickets for Tuesday’s game through the Blue Jays will be automatically refunded to the original payment method, the team announced. A credit should appear within 30 days. Tickets for the game will not be valid for either game of the doubleheader on Aug. 7.
“It is, first and foremost, such a good feeling to be headed back,” Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins said, “and it has been a massive jolt of positive energy throughout the entire organization, not just the clubhouse, on personal levels, professional levels. We could not be more excited. It increases our optimism, for sure, but at the same time we’ve shifted towards that winning cycle and have been hyperfocused on improving the organization, improving the major league team any way possible. So it doesn’t feel like that tangibly increases our desire to win, but it does feel as though it tangibly increases our optimism.”
The Blue Jays have been waiting to return to Canada for nearly two years, after playing home games the last two seasons at their spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., and the home of their Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons.
“This place has been great to us,” Montoyo said. “How the building looks like, how the fans have been. Except Monday night against the Red Sox and against the Yankees in June, we felt like we were playing on the road. It is what it is. But other than that, when we play somebody else’s teams and stuff, the crowds have been great and the support has been great. So Buffalo has been great to us.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he was pleased by the environment in Buffalo.
“Obviously, it’s a smaller stadium, but we get a lot of support whenever we go,” Cora said. “It was good to see obviously for them, I know they’re looking forward to going to Toronto and getting settled, but there was a good vibe (Monday). A lot different than early in the season when we went to Dunedin. Obviously, down there, I don’t think they were letting too many fans in. I think it was up to 1,000. But Monday was a good night. It was fun. They did an amazing job here. The clubhouse, the dugout and the field is good. So we’ve got two more and hopefully they can show up and support the game and obviously support the Red Sox.”
Toronto has a 22-21 record in “home” contest this season: 12-10 in Buffalo and 10-11 in Dunedin.
The 43 home games are tied for the fewest in the majors.
“I really think the biggest difference maker of it all (returning to Toronto) is the energy that we’ll get from having local fans and having that full support from our community and that city and that country,” Atkins said. “We by no means feel that we’ve had it bad. I feel incredibly supported in Buffalo and felt great about the support that we had in Dunedin, but we haven’t had Toronto and we haven’t had Canada to locally and in the flesh support us. That is an incredible boost of energy for our players. That seems like the biggest.
“But going back to a stadium that we know and that we’ve been in, that we’ve worked to make sure that environment is one for the highest level of performance, will definitely be an added benefit. And the other obvious aspects of being in such a wonderful city.”
Atkins said the border closure had a silver lining in the relationship the Blue Jays were able to forge with Buffalo, even if local fans occasionally cheered for the opponent.
“If the border were open, we wouldn’t have been playing here,” Atkins said. “So because of that, there was opportunities for Yankees fans and Red Sox fans to buy tickets. But I’ve been really impressed by the number of Blue Jays fans, the number of just really, really sincere baseball fans that were excited to see Major League Baseball here, and there’s been incredible moments in this stadium and hopefully we’ll have a couple of more of them these days. And we understand why the Red Sox and Yankees have had some support here.
“I do think that we probably built a better bond with this city because of it and I’m really excited about what it means for this Triple A relationship, for our Triple A players that will be playing here, for the Rich family and for the leadership of the Buffalo Bisons, our long relationship with Mike Buczkowski. Really excited about what it means moving forward and do feel like we have a stronger bond with the city.”
Pearson, Manoah updates
Nate Pearson has been diagnosed with a sports hernia and is moving to the bullpen for the rest of season, Atkins said.
The hard-throwing righty has been out since June 16 and dealing with groin issues all season, but is throwing again and expected to begin bullpen work and throwing live batting practice within a week.
The team can manage the issue “conservatively in the short term,” Atkins said.
“He could be a reliever option for us in near term,” he said.
Alek Manoah, who was placed on the Injured List on Monday night with a back contusion after slipping down wet dugout stairs, is only expected to miss one start, Atkins reiterated.
Bisons game times announced
The Bisons, set to return to Sahlen Field on Aug. 10, announced game times for their 23-game home slate in Buffalo.
Games on weeknights in August will begin at 7:05 p.m. The weekend games on Aug. 14, 15 and 29 begin at 1:05. The Aug. 28 game starts at 6:05.
Ten of 11 games in September begin at 6:05 p.m. The Sept. 25 game starts at 1:05.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday at Bisons.com.
