Latest news with #Varsho
Toronto Sun
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Toronto Sun
Blue Jays show no mercy in pounding the Texas Rangers into submission as they eye a series sweep
Eric Lauer #56 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches in the first inning of their MLB game against the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre on August 16, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Cole Burston / Getty Images Daulton Varsho isn't the reason why the Blue Jays have taken baseball by storm. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account He is, however, one of the reasons why the club sits one win away from matching the entire win total from last season. Saturday against the visiting Texas Rangers, Varsho appeared in his 36th game of the season, which began with Varsho on the injured list following off-season shoulder surgery. Varsho would hurt his hamstring in late May to further compromise his availability. When he has played, it's hard not to notice Varsho. He doesn't have the profile as some of his teammates and fans may never forget the deal that brought Varsho to town from Arizona. The guy can play and he has delivered. Varsho hit his 13th home run in the Jays' 14-2 rout of the Rangers to give him 34 RBI on the season. The game was so out of hand that the Rangers had former Blue Jay Roddy Tellez pitch the seventh and eighth innings as memories of Toronto's stay in Colorado began to flow. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tyler Heineman pitched the ninth for the Jays. The following are three takeaways from a convincing Blue Jays win that assured the club of a series win over the Rangers with a sweep at stake if a win is achieved Sunday, a day the Jays once again played in front of a full house in excess of 42,000. 1. Straw that stirs the drink With all due respect to Mr. October, Reggie Jackson, Myles Straw has turned into the do-it-all player who has come up big in big spots at the plate and made some big catches in the outfield. Remember the outcry when the Jays acquired Straw from Cleveland, a move essentially designed to free up international signing bonus space to pursue Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki. If anything, club ownership has shown it has the financial means to forget any perceived bad signing. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Straw isn't elite, but he's no stiff. Far from it for that matter. In fact, he's good and the perfect piece the Jays have used in the bottom of the order, which has stepped up. His signing has actually been very good. In his first at-bat Saturday, Straw went deep for a three-run blast to give the Jays a 4-0 lead. It was Straw's third homer of the season. In his second at-bat, Straw went deep for the second time. Through three innings, Straw had recorded his first-career multi-homer game, while driving in a career-high five runs in setting a career high in homers (4). Move over Mr. October. As for the money the Jays received from the Guardians, reports are that the club has signed South Korean pitching prospect Seo-jun Moon. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Straw did get a hit off Tellez with two outs in the eighth to give Straw a four-hit game to tie his career high. George Springer #4 of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts after beating a throw to single in the fifth inning of their MLB game against the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre on August 16, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Cole Burston / Getty Images 2. By George, he's back Everyone knew George Springer would be back following his concussion sustained in Baltimore late last month. But not many knew the Jays would have the veteran hit leadoff, a role he has not had since the next-to-last game in 2024. His productivity was usually felt in the middle of the order. The thinking behind having Springer leadoff was to break up the righty-righty-righty look when Springer hit second, followed by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. Saturday, Springer struck out looking on an inside pitch that was off the plate. He struck out in his second at-bat. Springer led off the fourth inning in an 8-1 game and would ground out to third base. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He beat out an infield hit in the fifth to load bases with the Jays comfortably ahead 10-1. 3. Lauer decision Maybe the Jays have extracted all that is possible from LHP Eric Lauer and then some. He has clearly emerged as one of the biggest surprise stories of the season on a team dotted with surprises. With Shane Bieber poised to make his return to a big-league mound, pitching decisions await. One will involve Lauer, whose days as a starter might be numbered. Saturday was Lauer's 14th start of the season and his 20th appearance for the Blue Jays. He took a 2.82 ERA into the afternoon. Lauer's command was off and his pitch count reached 67 through three innings. When he started the third, Lauer had a 6-0 lead. There are a handful of off days in the near future that almost precludes the Jays from going with a six-man rotation knowing the club's established starters need the ball every fifth day. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Whatever role the Jays have in store for Lauer, assuming a change is in the offing, it does speak to the luxury the club has been afforded. Lauer retired the Rangers in order in the fourth, including two strikeouts. He was the beneficiary of a great defensive play from Davis Schneider, who had earlier committed a fielding error, in left field that saved Lauer a run. When Lauer started the sixth inning, the Jays were leading 11-1. He gave up a leadoff walk on Lauer's 102nd and final pitch on the afternoon. Up next What's known is that Jose Berrios and Nathan Eovaldi are scheduled to start for their respective teams in the series finale (1:37 p.m.); the big unknown is whether Jays manager John Schneider will officially pick a date for Bieber to start his first game for the club; if history is any indication, Schneider will announce his rotation as the Jays head to Pittsburgh for a three-game set that begins Monday; Thursday is an off day before the Jays are in Miami for a weekend series against the Marlins. Crime Canada Toronto & GTA Toronto Blue Jays Toronto & GTA
Edmonton Journal
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Blue Jays show no mercy in pounding the Texas Rangers into submission as they eye a series sweep
Article content Daulton Varsho isn't the reason why the Blue Jays have taken baseball by storm. Article content He is, however, one of the reasons why the club sits one win away from matching the entire win total from last season. Article content Saturday against the visiting Texas Rangers, Varsho appeared in his 36th game of the season, which began with Varsho on the injured list following off-season shoulder surgery. Article content Article content Varsho hit his 13th home run in the Jays' 14-2 rout of the Rangers to give him 34 RBI on the season. Article content The game was so out of hand that the Rangers had former Blue Jay Roddy Tellez pitch the seventh and eighth innings as memories of Toronto's stay in Colorado began to flow. Article content Tyler Heineman pitched the ninth for the Jays. Article content The following are three takeaways from a convincing Blue Jays win that assured the club of a series win over the Rangers with a sweep at stake if a win is achieved Sunday, a day the Jays once again played in front of a full house in excess of 42,000. Article content Article content 1. Straw that stirs the drink Article content With all due respect to Mr. October, Reggie Jackson, Myles Straw has turned into the do-it-all player who has come up big in big spots at the plate and made some big catches in the outfield. Article content Remember the outcry when the Jays acquired Straw from Cleveland, a move essentially designed to free up international signing bonus space to pursue Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki. Article content If anything, club ownership has shown it has the financial means to forget any perceived bad signing. Article content Straw isn't elite, but he's no stiff. Article content Far from it for that matter. Article content In fact, he's good and the perfect piece the Jays have used in the bottom of the order, which has stepped up. Article content His signing has actually been very good. Article content In his first at-bat Saturday, Straw went deep for a three-run blast to give the Jays a 4-0 lead.
Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- Toronto Sun
Daulton Varsho reveals how Blue Jays teammate stole his jersey number
Outfielder had to switch jersey numbers from No. 25 to No. 5 after Anthony Santander joined team in off-season. Toronto Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho connects for a solo home run during a game against the Texas Rangers. AP Photo Daulton Varsho is known to rob opposing players of hits with his stellar play in the outfield, but it was the Gold Glover who fell victim to a bit of locker-room theft. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account It wasn't a valuable possession that went missing this past spring, however. It was his jersey number. During an appearance on Wednesday's episode of the 6ix Inning Stretch podcast, Varsho shared the story between his impromptu number switch from No. 25 – which he wore for his first two years in Toronto – to No. 5 this season and how it all went down. Varsho told co-hosts Lindsay Dunn and Whit Merrifield – a former Blue Jays all-star – that Anthony Santander surprised him with the news on the day of the slugger's introductory press conference, after having assured him the day before that every was cool. 'He came up to me and was like, 'Hey, like I'm not going to take 25, I'm going to take this number,'' Varsho said, adding that he told Santander, 'If you want it, like you can take it, but obviously we'll figure out something for it.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. However, it turned out that Santander was pretty quick to change his mind. 'The next day, he had his press conference, he's like, 'Hey, I'm taking your number.' I was like, 'Oh … OK,'' Varsho explained. 'The clubhouse manager, he's like, 'Hey, we need to figure out what your number is, Tony's going to take 25.'' Caught off guard by the situation, Varsho told him, 'OK, like I guess I'll take No. 5.' Varsho did share that Santander has been asking him since then what the outfielder would like in return for the number. 'He got me something the week before I got back (from injury). He was down in Florida, and he said he got me something,' Varsho said. 'I don't know what it is yet, but we'll see.' Merrifield then joked about what he would have given the native of Marshfield, Wisc., in return for the digits. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'If that was me, I'd have got you either a big wheel of cheese or I'd have bought you, because the (Green Bay) Packers are a publicly traded company … you'd have been a part-owner of the Packers. 'Give me Tony's number. I'll tell him to buy you some shares of the Packers.' While many players are very superstitious about their jersey numbers, the switch seems to be working out well for Varsho. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Since his return from the IL on Aug. 1, Varsho boasts a batting average of .357 and has hit four HRs and has 11 RBIs. For the season, he has 12 HRs in just 33 games – which is six HRs short of the 18 he hit last year while playing in 136 games. Read More Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls World Columnists Toronto & GTA
Edmonton Journal
3 days ago
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Daulton Varsho reveals how Blue Jays teammate stole his jersey number
Article content Daulton Varsho is known to rob opposing players of hits with his stellar play in the outfield, but it was the Gold Glover who fell victim to a bit of locker-room theft. Article content It wasn't a valuable possession that went missing this past spring, however. It was his jersey number. Article content During an appearance on Wednesday's episode of the 6ix Inning Stretch podcast, Varsho shared the story between his impromptu number switch from No. 25 – which he wore for his first two years in Toronto – to No. 5 this season and how it all went down. Article content Article content Varsho told co-hosts Lindsay Dunn and Whit Merrifield – a former Blue Jays all-star – that Anthony Santander surprised him with the news on the day of the slugger's introductory press conference, after having assured him the day before that every was cool. Article content 'He came up to me and was like, 'Hey, like I'm not going to take 25, I'm going to take this number,'' Varsho said, adding that he told Santander, 'If you want it, like you can take it, but obviously we'll figure out something for it.' Article content Article content Article content However, it turned out that Santander was pretty quick to change his mind. Article content Article content 'The next day, he had his press conference, he's like, 'Hey, I'm taking your number.' I was like, 'Oh … OK,'' Varsho explained. 'The clubhouse manager, he's like, 'Hey, we need to figure out what your number is, Tony's going to take 25.'' Article content Caught off guard by the situation, Varsho told him, 'OK, like I guess I'll take No. 5.' Article content Varsho did share that Santander has been asking him since then what the outfielder would like in return for the number. Article content 'He got me something the week before I got back (from injury). He was down in Florida, and he said he got me something,' Varsho said. 'I don't know what it is yet, but we'll see.' Article content Merrifield then joked about what he would have given the native of Marshfield, Wisc., in return for the digits. Article content 'If that was me, I'd have got you either a big wheel of cheese or I'd have bought you, because the (Green Bay) Packers are a publicly traded company … you'd have been a part-owner of the Packers. Article content 'Give me Tony's number. I'll tell him to buy you some shares of the Packers.' Article content Daulton Varsho since returning from the IL: 🔹.357 AVG 🔹1.276 OPS 🔹4 HR 🔹11 RBI 🔹245 wRC+ BEAST🔥 — SleeperBlueJays (@SleeperBlueJays) August 13, 2025
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Clement and Varsho homer as the Blue Jays reach 70 wins with a 5-1 victory over the Cubs
TORONTO (AP) — Ernie Clement and Daulton Varsho homered, and the Toronto Blue Jays became the first AL team to reach 70 wins by beating the Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Tuesday night. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits as the AL East-leading Blue Jays (70-50) improved to 23-11 against NL opponents. The Cubs have dropped five of seven. In those five losses, they scored a total of six runs. Toronto right-hander José Berríos (9-4) allowed two hits, both singles, in 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He walked four and struck out three. Pitching in front of a season-high crowd of 43,003, Berríos won his fourth straight decision. He is 7-1 with a 3.62 ERA in his past 10 starts. Starting for the first time since Sept. 25, 2024, at Philadelphia, Cubs right-hander Javier Assad (0-1) allowed four runs and eight hits in four innings. The Cubs reinstated Assad off the 60-day injured list. He had been sidelined by an oblique injury. Alejandro Kirk's RBI single was one of three Blue Jays hits in the first inning. Clement hit a three-run drive off Assad in the fourth. Varsho extended Toronto's advantage with a leadoff blast against Ben Brown in the eighth. It was Varsho's 12th homer. Chicago's Michael Busch hit an RBI single off Tommy Nance in the seventh. Brendon Little came on and struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong to strand runners at second and third. Blue Jays infielder Andrés Giménez went 1 for 3 with a walk in his return from a sprained left ankle. Giménez last played July 4. Key moment Varsho singled to begin the fourth and Ty France was hit by a pitch before Clement's first-pitch drive to left. Key stat The Blue Jays are 31-31 on the road and 39-19 at home. Up next Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (8-8, 3.85 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday against Cubs RHP Cade Horton (6-3, 3.18 ERA). ___ AP MLB:
