Blue Jays briefs: Rowdy Tellez, 'homeless' Jays power past Rays

“We’re homeless,” the Blue Jays first baseman and designated hitter said during a Zoom conference call with reporters Friday afternoon.

Tellez and his teammates continue to look right at home in Buffalo, though. The former Bison hit one of six Blue Jays home runs Friday night, his second at Sahlen Field this week, during a 12-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Randal Grichuk, Cavan Biggio and Bo Bichette also homered, and Teoscar Hernandez hit two, including a three-run shot in the eighth, to give Toronto (7-9) a franchise-record 13 home runs in two games.

Tellez’s two-run homer over the right-field wall drew the Blue Jays to within one in the second inning, and he later scored on Bichette’s go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth.

“I love the potential of his intensity,” said Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo. “For a young kid, he’s a leader. … I think we're watching a star in the making."

Bisons fans are aware of Tellez’s power. The 25-year-old hit 13 home runs at Sahlen Field during his 260 regular-season games with the team from 2017 through 2019. His 459-foot homer during a 14-11 extra-inning loss to Miami on Wednesday was the 26th in the ballpark’s history to land in the parking lot beyond the right-field wall.

Employees used spray paint to mark the landing spot, and Tellez is the third player to hit multiple parking-lot home runs at Sahlen Field. The recent surge came after Tellez went hitless in nine at-bats during a series in Boston last week.

“It’s tough bouncing around, especially not playing in a major league stadium – that’s more on the psyche,” said Tellez, who went 2 for 4 on Friday.

Short start

Blue Jays starting pitcher Tanner Roark threw 82 pitches across four innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits, including a two-run homer by Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe in the first inning. Blue Jays starting pitchers have been pulled before the fifth inning in each of the past two games, stretching a bullpen that entered Friday having thrown the third-fewest innings in the American League this season.

Five Blue Jays relievers combined to allow one run in five innings.

Bo knows

Bichette went 2 for 5 and has an extra-base hit with an RBI in seven consecutive games, including a home run in four straight, for the longest streak by a shortstop since 1920. His 38 career extra-base hits are tied for the second most in MLB history in a player’s first 59 MLB games, trailing only Joe DiMaggio (46).

“He’s on fire right now,” said Roark of Bichette. “He’s hot. He’s seeing the ball well and he’s putting the barrel on the ball. Good luck.”

By the numbers

The Blue Jays are the fourth team in MLB history to hit six-plus home runs in consecutive games, joining the 1996 Dodgers, 2003 Angels and 2012 Nationals. Toronto’s 13 home runs over the past two games bested its previous record that was set in September 1987.

Return

The Rays’ traveling party has at least one person who is pleased with the major-league setup in Buffalo. Manager Kevin Cash, who played at Sahlen Field during his time as a catcher in the International League, spoke highly of the renovations.

"What they've done and the people that have worked to put everything up is really impressive,” said Cash. “Our clubhouse is tremendous. The field and the surface looks outstanding. Very fortunate that this has worked out and a lot of people have worked really hard, so thank you to all of them.”

Onward

The series continues Saturday night when the Blue Jays host the Rays at 6:37 p.m. Chase Anderson, a 32-year-old right-hander, will make his second start of the season for Toronto.