Blue Jays eke out win over lowly Reds in Votto’s return to Toronto

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On Country Night, the Blue Jays, in theory, should have won by a country mile.

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The Cincinnati Reds, by all measurements, are an inferior team, providing a background for the home side to flex its muscles.

A win, as they say, is still a win by any means, but by no means was Toronto’s 2-1 victory achieved in decisive fashion.

At least Hyun Jin Ryu recorded his first win of the season, pitching six-hit ball in six innings, while striking out three.

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He wasn’t the Ryu of old with the Reds able to hit line drives seemingly all over the ballpark.

Still, Ryu’s night ended with the Jays leading 2-0.

Overall, it was a pretty non-descript night, even with hometown hero Joey Votto back with the Reds.

Three successive hits did the trick for the Jays in a two-run fifth.

Pitching wise, Ryu’s night was encouraging, for the most part.

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Adam Cimber worked out of a jam, while Yimi Garcia was lights out.

When the lights literally went out to usher in Jordan Romano’s appearance from the bullpen, the Markham native delivered by recording his 13th save.

Romano had been dealing with a gastrointestinal infection that kept him out of the lineup when Seattle was in town.

The evening’s starters were, for the most part, on point in the early innings.

Ryu was the beneficiary of an inning-ending double play in the first and he would also see some solid defence being played, especially in the outfield by Raimel Tapia, who started in left.

Tapia made more than a few running catches as the Reds hit Ryu hard.

For Reds starter Luis Castillo, the Jays did the righty a big favour by leaving runners in scoring position, which is hardly news given Toronto’s penchant for not coming up big with the bat in such scenarios.

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It all changed in the home half of the fifth inning.

No. 9 hitter Bradley Zimmer hit a sharp line-drive double with one out.

He scored on an RBI single by George Springer, who then came around to plate Toronto’s second run when Bo Bichette stroked a double to left field.

Castillo then avoided further damage by inducing groundouts to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez to end the inning.

Through five innings, the Jays were leading 2-0, but at the same time they did leave five runners on base.

In the sixth, Tapia hit a one-out single, but the inning would end when Matt Chapman hit into a double play.

Ryan Borucki was summoned from the pen to pitch the seventh inning for the Jays.

The first batter he faced was Mike Moustakas, who reached base when he was hit by a pitch.

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That set the tone for Borucki’s outing.

He left with runners at the corner and one out as the Jays turned to Cimber.

Pinch hitter Colin Moran stepped to the plate to face Cimber.

The count went full.

After fouling off a couple of pitches, Moran struck out swinging.

Leadoff hitter Matt Reynolds then faced Cimber.

Moran fought off an inside pitch to hit it over the outstretched glove of Santiago Espinal at second as the Reds scored their first run.

Cimber struck out Tyler Stephenson to end the inning.

JOEY’S BACK IN TOWN

Votto, who attended Richview Collegiate during his collegiate days, was back in Toronto as the visiting Reds began a three-game series against the host Blue Jays.

For Votto, a sure-fire future hall of famer, it was his first big-league appearance since he went on the COVID injured list on May 3.

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The timing of being home was purely coincidental, but Votto nonetheless relished the opportunity.

During the pre-game player introductions, fans applauded when Votto’s name was announced.

When he stepped to the plate in the top half of the second inning, fans gave Votto a warm applause.

Prior to the first pitch, Votto held court with the media.

A six-time all-star, Votto took a trip down memory lane.

“It just gives me goosebumps,’’ he said. “I lose sleep over it.”

Votto grew up 11 kms away from the water-front stadium.

“My father worked on an island across the lake,’’ he added. “I came down here and I looked up at SkyDome, Rogers Centre, almost every day, coming down during the summer.

“There’s great meaning to me here, truly great meaning to me.”

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Votto rejoined the Reds following a rehab assignment.

“A good bit ago I started feeling much better,’’ he added. “I feel fantastic.”

Votto’s return, he batted cleanup, arrived at the most opportune time for the Reds, who placed four players on the team’s restricted list due to their vaccination status.

The list included former Jays infielder Brandon Drury.

Outfielder Albert Almora and pitchers Joel Kuhnel and Tyler Mahle won’t also be available for the Reds this weekend.

For Votto, being at Rogers Centre felt like being at home.

“I have this idea, this image, of me catching a foul ball, but I don’t think I’ve ever caught a foul ball,” he said.

“I just remember sitting in the upper section and taking in the game and just feeling like, you know, there’s something about a Toronto spring, summer.

“I felt it today (Friday) driving in. It’s just so refreshing. You pay your dues all winter long, fall and winter and then all of a sudden when the sun kicks in with the blue skies.

“I just remember that moment, just experiencing a beautiful day and then getting to watch baseball. It’s in the exact same stadium I’m playing in now.”

The roof was open for the series opener on a night fans opened their arms and hearts for the hometown kid.

Votto went 1-for-4 at the plate.

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