The Toronto Blue Jays, for the first time since the end of the 2019 season, are back on Canadian soil. On Friday night, boosted by home runs by Bo Bichette and Teoscar Hernandez, the Jays downed the visiting Kansas City Royals 6-4 at Rogers Centre.
George Springer, playing his first game in Toronto as a member of the Blue Jays, added three hits and an RBI, as the Royals lost for only the second time in 10 games.
Displaced from Canada because of border restrictions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the Blue Jays played the bulk of the shortened 2020 season in Buffalo, New York, the home of their Triple-A affiliate. They began the 2021 regular season playing at their spring training home in Dunedin, Florida, before moving back to Buffalo in June.
On July 16, the Canadian federal government granted the Blue Jays an exemption to the ongoing border restrictions, allowing the team to return home.
While coronavirus restrictions held Friday night’s crowd to just 13,446, the fans were loud and boisterous, chanting “Let’s Go Blue Jays” as the team made a run from center field to home plate in pre-game ceremonies.
Toronto heads into the weekend just 4 1/2 games out of the second wild-card spot, and fourth place in the AL East, behind New York, Boston, and Tampa Bay.
Right-hander Ross Stripling (4-6) allowed two runs and four hits in 5 1-3 innings to snap a three-start winless streak as the Blue Jays won for the third time in four games.
Here is the MLB Scoreboard from Friday, July 30, 2021:
St. Louis 5, Minnesota 1
NY Yankees 3, Miami 1
Houston 9, San Francisco 6
Baltimore 4, Detroit 3
Tampa Bay 7, Boston 3
Seattle 9, Texas 5
Chicago (AL) 6, Cleveland 4
Oakland 2, Los Angeles (AL) 0
Washington 4, Chicago (NL) 3
Pittsburgh 7, Philadelphia 0
Cincinnati 6, New York (NL) 2
Milwaukee 9, Atlanta 5
Arizona 6, Los Angeles (NL) 5
Colorado 9, San Diego 4
Photo credit – Taxiarchos228 / Wikimedia Commons / Toronto, ON