TORONTO — Real life has come at Jonathan Davis pretty hard over the past seven months. Back in February, he stood by wife Hannah’s side as she experienced complications after going into labour, and then watched over newborn daughter Kapri while she overcame some respiratory distress.
Once things stabilized at home, he was a late arrival at spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays, and just as he found his footing in the lead-up to the regular season, the COVID-19 pandemic sent everyone home. During the shutdown, Davis stayed in shape and felt he was in a good spot when everyone began to reconvene, but a positive coronavirus test sent him right back to the sidelines.
While he was relatively asymptomatic, experiencing little more than mild congestion, his window of opportunity was nonetheless pushed back, leaving him to patiently await an opening to jump through.
Tuesday night at Sahlen Field, a chance finally arrived, and as he rounded first base with his arm in the air before an emotional hand clap, smiling wide after sending a 93.2-m.p.h. fastball from J.A. Happ 411 feet to left field in his first big-league at-bat of the season, there was a little extra meaning in the moment for the 28-year-old.
“Without a doubt, man,” Davis said after delivering the key blow in a 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees that moved the Blue Jays three games clear of their rivals for second place in the AL East. “I can look back over this year, starting out, we had our baby Kapri, then COVID happened, and I was actually having a good camp, I felt great about going into the season and then the season got put on hold. I went home, worked out, felt great and then I ended up having a positive test before I was able to come back which set me back even more.
“The decisions that the front office made to go with the guys they did, I respect it 1,000 per cent. I love those guys, they’ve been doing a great job and honestly, I just wanted to be with the team. Real talk. And it feels good to be able to come out and be able to contribute, because those guys are my brothers. We’re doing a great job. We have a great team.”
Increasingly, it’s becoming tougher to debate that, as the Blue Jays moved a season-best six games above .500 at 24-18 after a sixth win in eight outings. They’re guaranteed to finish a stretch of 28 games in 27 days in sole possession of second, going 18-9 through this extended run with only Wednesday’s series finale against the Yankees remaining before they finally get a full day of rest.
Taijuan Walker, making his third start since being acquired from Seattle Mariners, fought his command and walked five batters through four innings yet managed to keep the Yankees off the board. A bullpen running on fumes covered the final five frames, as Shun Yamaguchi loaded the bases with none out in the fifth but allowed only a Mike Tauchman sacrifice fly before throwing a clean sixth. A.J. Cole, pitching for the sixth time in 11 days, handled the seventh, Anthony Kay took care of the eighth and Rafael Dolis, in his fifth outing in nine days, closed things down in the ninth for his third save.
Rowdy Tellez tweaked his right knee chasing a foul ball in the eighth inning, played through discomfort for the rest of the inning and left the game once the frame ended. He’ll go for an MRI on Wednesday, as will Teoscar Hernandez (oblique), as the injuries continue to mount for a Blue Jays team that continues to show resilience no matter what.
“A lot of people say, next man up, and I feel like that’s what we’ve done with this team,” said Walker. “J.D., his first game, a two-run homer, that was huge and I feel like everyone contributes in some way, whether it be defensively, offensively, or whatever it is. We play as a team and all our wins have been really good team wins. It says a lot about us … and it’s huge how we can go out there and fight.
“When we lose a guy like Teoscar, it definitely is a big blow, but we have that ‘next man up’ mentality.”
Davis, recalled Monday when Hernandez was placed on the injured list, followed a Joe Panik single in the second by hammering a Happ fastball, one of two extra-base hits the Blue Jays managed against their former lefty ace.
A defensive whiz in the outfield known for his ability to go get balls and tear through the basepaths, production at the plate has been his primary hurdle to sustained big-league opportunity. Before the game, manager Charlie Montoyo said, “with the defence he plays and how he runs the bases, if he hits just OK, he could be in the big leagues for 10 to 12 years. He can be that kind of player. He’s going to get a chance now to see what he can do.”
It has been a long time coming. Davis was late to summer camp after clearing COVID-19 from his system, was only activated from the injured list and optioned to the alternative training site in Rochester on Aug. 2, and it wasn’t until Sept. 1 that he was added to the taxi squad.
When it was suggested that left him chasing his season, he politely disagreed, saying that “I’ve been trying to stay ready, really.”
“There’s the saying, you want to stay ready, you don’t want to have to get ready, so I was just waiting for tonight, actually,” Davis continued. “The opportunity presented itself for me to be able to get out there and I helped my team win and it feels great to be able to contribute.”
He did so with an assist from Anthony Alford, his longtime Blue Jays teammate and brother-in-law claimed on waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 27. Alford subsequently suffered a season-ending elbow fracture and underwent surgery Tuesday, calling Davis afterwards.
“This speaks to how great of a brother, how close of a friend, and how good of a man he is, he called me before the game and he just had surgery,” said Davis. “He knew I was going up against J.A. Happ, he had faced him and I didn’t have any at-bats against him coming into the game, and he told me, ‘Hey man, just get on top of that fastball.’ I went out there and that’s what I was looking to do, hit the fastball and stay on top of it and try to hit a line drive. I ended up helping my team.”
Davis said Alford’s surgery went well and added that “I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of his career. It’s going to be fun watching him.”
The same can be said for Davis, who’s overcome a fair bit already this year to deliver in his first opportunity, and help the Blue Jays move another step closer to the post-season.
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