色色啦

Nathan Lukes came within inches of leading the game off with a home run, but gold glove centre-fielder Brenton Doyle leapt at the wall to haul it in. Next time up, Lukes blasted one into the Rockies’ right-field bullpen to open the scoring聽鈥� his 10th home run of the season.

Daulton Varsho, who homered in Monday’s 15-1 Jays’ romp, went deep with Alejandro Kirk aboard in the fourth inning to put the Jays on top for good, then homered again in the sixth聽鈥� another two-run shot and one that went an eye-popping 467 feet in the thin air of Denver. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Addison Barger also homered in that frame, on consecutive pitches. For each, it was his 17th of the year, for Guerrero, it was the first time in his career that he’d taken a 3-0 pitch out of the yard.

The five home runs were a season-high for the Jays.聽

For good measure, Guerrero and Varsho each contributed RBI doubles in the ninth聽鈥� Varsho driving in a pair to give him a career-high six RBIs聽鈥� to get the Jays to double digits.聽

Jos茅 Berr铆os gave up a two-run homer to Hunter Goodman in the first, but then held the Rockies right there until the sixth, improving to 8-4.

Fastballs

Rodriguez Resets

When last we’d seen Yariel Rodriguez, the right-hander was melting down in the heat of Baltimore. Asked to protect a 9-5 lead in the seventh inning on July 30, Rodriguez gave up three straight one-out singles then, after a ground ball got through Ernie Clement at first base, walked back-to-back hitters, the final one with the bases loaded.

After nearly a week off, Rodriguez was called upon in a big spot Tuesday. He came in to face the tying run with one out in the bottom of the sixth, in an inning that was spiralling out of control, and got Thairo Estrada to bounce one up the middle. Bo Bichette and Clement niftily turned it into an inning-ending double play.

Rodriguez came back out for the seventh and was much shakier, going single-walk-single to start the inning before working out of the jam. He had help from Lukes, who threw out Brenton Doyle trying to stretch his leadoff single into a double.

Limping Loperfido

Outfielder Joey Loperfido took a 98.2-m.p.h. fastball off the outside of his right knee in the sixth and had to be helped off the field by trainer Jose Ministral and manager John Schneider.

The left-handed batter had singled in his previous at-bat after a three-hit night on Monday. He’s hitting .389 with a .978 OPS since being recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on July 6, producing enough to have claimed an everyday job.

After the game, Schneider told reporters in Denver that x-rays on Loperfido’s knee were negative for a fracture.

Game Saver?

Myles Straw took over for Loperfido and threw his glove into the ring in that seventh inning. With two on, one out and Rodriguez struggling to retire a hitter, Straw lunged on the dead run to snare a sinking liner off the bat of Ezequiel Tovar. The outstanding diving grab kept the Rockies from loading the bases with one out and putting the tying run on base for the meat of the lineup, restoring order and allowing Rodriguez to gather himself.聽

Rodriguez popped up Goodman to end the inning and the home side never threatened again.

Mailbag

“Fivetat” found me on Bluesky @wilnerness (you should, too) and asked,聽“Who will be the odd men out when George Springer and Andr茅s Gim茅nez rejoin the big club?”

That time is coming pretty soon, Five. Gim茅nez started a rehab stint in Buffalo on Tuesday and Springer will likely rejoin the Jays in Los Angeles this weekend.

One of the spots is pretty easy to figure out聽鈥� Buddy Kennedy, called up Tuesday when third catcher Ali Sanchez was designated for assignment, will be the first to go. The other is tougher, though if Loperfido has to go on the injured list with his sore knee, that will take care of it. If not, Loperfido may go down anyway, at least for a couple of weeks until rosters expand on September 1.

It will come down to him, Ty France or Davis Schneider, everything else being equal.