Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette leads the majors in doubles — total hits, too. The two-time All-Star’s .311 batting average is good for third in MLB.
He’s been enjoying a second-half surge in a contract year.
But a left knee sprain has landed him on the injured list at an inopportune time. The Blue Jays, up only two games on the New York Yankees in an increasingly tight AL East race, placed Bichette on the IL Tuesday, retroactive to Sunday.
“It sucks,” Toronto manager John Schneider said, via MLB.com. “Any time of year, to lose a guy who’s hitting in the middle of your order and playing short, it sucks.”
Schneider added: “Hopefully, he can get back as soon as he can. Again, I don’t want to say, ‘Holy [crap], there’s a dark cloud over us right now.’ You’ve got to continue to move on.”
Bichette suffered his knee injury Saturday during a 3-1 road loss to the Yankees. Zooming home as a the potential tying run, Bichette made a bee-line for the plate from second base after Nathan Lukes roped a single into right field in the top of the sixth inning.
But Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger delivered a one-hop throw to catcher Austin Wells, who tagged Bichette out as he rammed into Well’s shin protectors while sliding feet first.
Bichette hobbled off the field. Although he returned to the game after its subsequent near-two-hour rain delay — and his X-rays came back clean — Bichette experienced soreness in his knee Sunday and Monday, per MLB.com.
He eventually received an MRI, which identified the sprain.
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Schneider hasn’t publicly put a timeline on Bichette’s return, except the Blue Jays are confident he’ll be available later this month.
Toronto dropped the final two games of its three-game series with the Yankees and is only 5-5 in its last 10 games. Go back to Aug. 6, and the Blue Jays are just 14-13 since. That said, Schneider’s group is capable of catching fire. Toronto started the year 26-28 before entering the All-Star break with a 55-41 record.
Bichette’s absence will be felt, however. Since July he’s been slashing .372/.426/.571 with seven home runs and 45 RBI.
Triple-A Buffalo’s Joey Loperfido will take Bichette’s spot on the roster. Ernie Clement and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are candidates to fill in at shortstop.
Not only are the Yankees knocking on the first-place door, but the AL West-leading Houston Astros (78-66) have a chance to make a move on the Blue Jays (82-61) for one of the two AL playoff byes, which the Jays and Detroit Tigers (82-62) are currently on pace to grab.
Toronto starts a six-game homestand with a three-game series against the Astros on Tuesday night — without Bichette, though.
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