Blue Jays lose as Barger experiences several big-league firsts in debut

KANSAS CITY — Late Tuesday night, Addison Barger was hanging out in Buffalo with Ricky Tiedemann when a phone call from Casey Candaele interrupted the two prospects.

You’d better get your stuff, said Candaele, the triple-A manager. The Blue Jays need you in Kansas City and your flight leaves in about six hours. Kevin Kiermaier was about to hit the injured list with left hip flexor inflammation, and the Blue Jays needed an extra outfielder ASAP.

With that, Barger got moving. He collected his baseball gear from Sahlen Field, the home of the Buffalo Bisons, and called his wife and his dad to tell them the good news. After sleeping for “maybe 20 minutes,” the 24-year-old made his way to the airport for an early flight to join the MLB team for his big-league debut. It was now time for adrenaline and coffee to do their work.

“It’s what you dream of as a kid. You work so hard and it comes true,” Barger said before the game. “So obviously it’s a big deal. You feel a lot of emotions.”

By the time the day ended, Barger would experience many big-league firsts at Kauffman Stadium as the Blue Jays lost 3-2 to the Royals. Among them: his first ever appearance in left field, his first big-league error, his first highlight reel catch and his first hitless night at the plate.

Of course expecting any prospect to turn around the fortunes of a big-league team is unrealistic, and Barger did make hard contact in his first at-bat, hitting an Alec Marsh offering 397 feet to centre field for a flyout. A George Springer solo home run got the Blue Jays started in the fifth, but they sputtered to the finish, failing to score more than five runs for the 16th consecutive game as they fell to 13-12 on the season.

"It's a matter of time,” Schneider said of his team’s offence. ”You’ve got to keep plugging away. Everyone knows how we're built, but it takes a game or two to really get rolling. I think the the encouraging part is we are where we are (record-wise) without firing on all cylinders really. We're confident it will turn around."

On the mound, Yariel Rodriguez gave the Blue Jays four strong innings before running into trouble in the fifth, when he allowed the first three hitters to reach and gave way to Genesis Cabrera. Bowden Francis later offered a couple clean innings of relief on a day rotation candidate Alek Manoah allowed six earned runs in three innings at triple-A.

Rodriguez’s season ERA climbed to 3.86 after his third big-league start, as he was charged with three earned runs on a night he struck out two and topped out at 95 m.p.h. 

"It wasn't my best outing (but) the more I go out there, the better I feel," Rodriguez said through interpreter Hector Lebron. "Building is key here and I understand that. Mentally and physically, I feel very good."

"He got some soft contact and he mixed his pitches really well," Schneider added. "I didn't think his stuff was as good as it has been (but) he navigated it well.”

Eventually, Barger has the kind of powerful left-handed swing that could give the Blue Jays’ lineup a boost, and it sounds like he’ll get some run in left field, especially when right-handed pitchers are on the mound for the opposition. Before the game, outfield coach Mark Budzinski and centre fielder Daulton Varsho offered some defensive pointers, knowing it was an entirely new position.

“That’ll be interesting,” Barger said before the game. “I’ve never played left field in my life … but it’s the same game. I’ll figure it out.”

Despite those good intentions, his first ever chance at a putout went poorly. Kyle Isbel hit a fly ball to left field in the second inning, and Barger circled under it awkwardly before bobbling the ball on the warning track, allowing Isbel to take an extra base. The outfielder would later score, and in a one-run game every misplay counts, as the Blue Jays know from Wednesday, when Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s error cost them.

Later, though, Barger made an impressive catch on a Vinnie Pasquantino fly ball, crashing into the left field wall to rob the Royals first baseman of extra bases.

"I thought he did a nice job and his at-bats were competitive," Schneider said. "It's a whirlwind day for him today and I thought he handled himself well."

Still, Barger’s largely here because of his bat. With three home runs and a .314/.435/.586 batting line at triple-A, the 2018 sixth-round pick was excelling at the highest level of the minors. Ahead of his debut Monday, he spoke about the importance of staying measured at the plate.

“If I don't calm myself down, I'll look like a madman,” he said. “I’m aggressive. I take hacks. It's just the nature of me. It's hard for me to tame it sometimes, but it's going to be about being relaxed and looking for a good pitch to hit."

One game in, Barger’s still looking for results at the plate, but in that respect he’s not alone. The Blue Jays are now 25 games into the season, and their search for an offensive identity continues, too.