Blue Jays top White Sox 14-5 with seven-run eighth inning

So much of this is new.

It’s been a long time since the Toronto Blue Jays scored to the extent that they did on Tuesday night, when their energized offensive put up 14 runs to the Chicago White Sox’s five and won their fourth consecutive game.

To be exact, the Blue Jays haven’t scored that many runs since May 29, 2017, when they scored 17 runs against the Cincinnati Reds.

The list of new factors is long. New players for the Blue Jays got on base nine times and collected five RBI. The Blue Jays haven’t had a winning April since 2012, but they’re trending towards one right now. Toronto has a new style of play, with active baserunning and persistent hitting that isn’t limited to the home run.

That four-game winning streak is mostly thanks to the Blue Jays’ resilient offense over the past four days. In all of Toronto’s previous three games against the New York Yankees and White Sox, it came back from deficits in the seventh inning or later, more often than not in dramatic fashion.

That offense was more than present on Tuesday. The Blue Jays combined for 15 hits, and in the eighth inning, they sent 11 hitters to the plate and scored seven runs. All Blue Jays starters reached base at least once.

Totally forgotten by the crazy eighth inning, J.A. Happ struggled in his second start of the season, giving up four earned runs in 5.1 innings. However, Happ struck out nine — nine! — and only walked one. He did allow two home runs.

One of them was a very large blast. In the top of the fifth inning, Avisail Garcia hit a 481-foot bomb off of a window of the hotel in the Rogers Centre.

The Toronto bullpen continued to shut down opposing batters after Happ left the game. A combination of Danny Barnes, John Axford, Tyler Clippard and Aaron Loup gave up only one run.

Josh Donaldson started the game at third, another new influence for the Blue Jays. Sidelined by a dead arm, Donaldson hadn’t started at the position since Opening Day on Thursday. Although he remained in the lineup as a designated hitter, Blue Jays fans waited with anticipation for his return to the field.

His defense was fine, and contained nothing of note — except, of course, the fact that he was on the field. It was in the lineup where he stood out, hitting a two-run home run and RBI single.

Donaldson’s successful return to the field was only good news for the Blue Jays. As their four-game winning streak looks to continue tomorrow in the final game of their series against Chicago, Donaldson comes as reinforcement just in time for a nine-game road trip.

And if the winning continues, they may have their first winning April since 2012.

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Jays of the Day: Diaz (.239), Donaldson (.158), Grichuk (.104)

Suckage: None!