Berrios pitched another healthy seven innings with seven strikeouts and gave up just one run on three hits in the Blue Jays’ (57-45) 4-1 win against the lightweight Detroit Tigers (41-62) on Sunday. Chapman drilled a two-run, two-out double in the second inning to spark Toronto’s offense. He also singled in the fourth inning to reach base safely in 10 straight games, which saw him go 16 for 33 (.485) with five homers and 12 RBI. “I found something that’s going to stick with me,” said Chapman, who found he was standing too tall and not using his legs enough to keep his bat in the strike zone more. “I’m a little smarter now (with his approach at the plate).” Chapman, acquired in mid-March in a trade with the Oakland Athletics, has 20 homers on the season. “He made a little bit of an adjustment just trying to stay on his feet a little bit longer,” Blue Jays interim manager John Schneider added. “What he meant about the lineup is that he blew us away. Since the (all-star) break, he’s been on fire.” Most of Chapman’s homers have been hit in the Blue Jays’ bullpen, and his teammates who fill positions there have given Chapman grief for not recognizing them more. “I’m more worried about touching the bases,” said Chapman, who looked in the bullpen’s direction as he approached third base. The Blue Jays have taken three of four from the Tigers and have gone 11-3 since Schneider took over earlier this month. Berrios (8-4) enjoyed his best month as a Blue Jay, checking in with three wins and three no-decisions in six starts. The Blue Jays have won 13 straight home games with Berrios starting, a club record that surpasses the late Roy Halladay’s 12-game streak in 2007-08. “He was landing his curveball,” Schneider said. “He was seeing his fastball up. He was on, so it was more of the same. He’s been really consistent in his last five or six starts and today was just another example.” His brother-in-law, Javier Baez, was the only guest to hurt Berrios in the series finale. In Detroit’s first at-bat, he made three foul shots down the left field line before drawing a nine-pitch walk in the at-bat. In the fourth inning, Baez led off with a homer to left center, bringing Detroit within a run of Toronto. “I texted him and told him he got me,” said Berrios, a Minnesota Twins acquisition a year ago. The Blue Jays picked up a pair of runs in the fifth inning thanks to a walk and doubles to left by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Beau Bisset off Detroit’s Garrett Hill (1-3). The win put the home team in the perfect mood for their charter flight to Tampa Bay. The group planned a beach party at the homes of neighbors Berrios and George Springer in Florida. “Everyone will dress up and wear beach clothes. Luckily, that’s like most of my clothes.” said the 29-year-old Chapman. A group golf outing was planned for Monday. Manoah’s Elbow: Blue Jays right-hander Alec Manoa threw for the first time since he was hit in the right elbow by a Jonathan Sup fan on Friday. Manoah felt fine and expects to make his next scheduled start for Minnesota against the Twins on Thursday. Next: The Blue Jays don’t play again until an hour after Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline at 6 p.m. ET, when they begin a nine-game road trip to Tampa Bay, Minnesota and Baltimore. Toronto’s Kevin Gausman (7-8) will face Rays starter Drew Rasmussen (6-3) in the first of a two-game set in Tampa Bay. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 31, 2022.
