John Farrell said he wanted to stick with Yunel Escobar, at least for one more game.
With his starting shortstop mired in a 4-for-32 skid entering Wednesday, with the Blue Jays playing a day game following Tuesday's night game and with veteran Omar Vizquel on standby, no one would have been surprised had the Toronto Blue Jays skipper decided to give Escobar the day off.
But instead of parking Escobar on the bench, Farrell moved him down a spot in the order, flipping him with Kelly Johnson in the belief that 29-year-old Cuban needed to play his way out his current offensive funk.
On Wednesday afternoon, the lineup shuffle and the decision to stick with Escobar paid off for Farrell as his shortstop delivered three hits, including a key three-run double in Toronto's six-run fifth inning, as the Blue Jays cruised to an 11-5 win over the Rangers before 25,123 at an open-air Rogers Centre.
"Yunel, just a very solid day, probably the best day he's had with the bat since the opener," said Farrell following the game. "I don't want to say it was just a pure shakeup of a lineup, but I think sometimes you put a guy in a different slot and suddenly they have a different view, a fresh start and it worked out today."
The win gave the Blue Jays (14-11) a series win over the defending American League champions as they now depart for an 11-day, 10-game road trip beginning Thursday night in Anaheim against the Angels.
Farrell suggested the new-look top of the order may travel west with them.
"Given today's performance and the fact that both Kelly and Yunel have hit at the top of the order… right now we may look to go with that a little bit," he said.
Johnson's take on the switch?
"Eleven runs difference today," he joked.
He was more serious however when asked what it means to take two of three from the Rangers as they prepare to head out on a long road trip.
"It's huge," he said. "Anytime you play these teams that are any good, there's a different vibe a different feel when you beat them in the series. It gives you a big boost, it gives you a high. Definitely a big homestand."
Toronto catcher J.P. Arencibia, seeing his first May action following a rough April in which he hit just one home run with a battling line of .188/.232/.281/.513, had a pair of hits on the day including a two-run double.
Johnson swatted a two-run shot in the third inning for his sixth home run of the season and red-hot Edwin Encarnacion, starting at first base in place of Adam Lind, belted a three-run shot in the sixth inning for his team-high ninth homer.
In all Toronto batters pounded out 11 hits helping starter Ricky Romero improve to 4-0. The Blue Jays ace left-hander was brilliant for seven of his eight innings of work, the Rangers' four-run fifth being the lone exception. In all, Romero gave up five runs on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
"It was a good outing other than that one inning," said Romero. "I just couldn't find it, but I was able to settle down and get out of that inning. Other than that, the offence picked me up today."
Romero added he's taken particular satisfaction in the early-season offensive exploits of one teammate in particular.
"He's been tremendous, he's having fun," he said of Encarnacion. "Just to think of what happened to him last year, the boos he was receiving in the stadium, to see him succeed and the way that he's overcome all that stuff, it's been tremendous.
"He has a lot of passion, definitely a heck of a hitter. It's good to see him succeed."
Joel Carreno, who had been recalled from the triple-A Las Vegas 51s in time for Wednesday's game, pitched a scoreless ninth for Toronto.
Romero's Texas counterpart on Wednesday, fellow lefty Matt Harrison, lasted just 3.1 innings after surrendering eight runs on eight hits to take the loss and fall to 3-2.
Rajai Davis, who started in centre field in place of the left-handed hitting Colby Rasmus with Harrison on the mound, left the game in the fifth inning after straining his left hip flexor muscle.
"He's day-to-day at this point" said Farrell.
Notes: With Carreno re-joining Toronto, the team has sent left-hander Evan Crawford to triple-A Las Vegas to make room on the 25-man roster. Farrell said the move had nothing to do with performance but wanting to have another right-handed arm in the bullpen against the predominately right-handed hitting Rangers and Angels … Prior to the game Farrell revealed Travis Snider has been placed on the disabled list after experiencing "soreness" in right wrist after injuring it while diving for a ball last week with triple-A Vegas. An MRI at the time showed no structural damage and Farrell added there has been no change to that diagnosis.
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