Blue Jays' depth increases (with Vlad) for win over Athletics

The Toronto Blue Jays battled an injury virus on Friday night as several backup players stepped up to help the team beat the Oakland Athletics 4-1 at Rogers Center. #BlueJays #depth #steps #Vlad TORONTO -- How different a week has been for the Toronto Blue Jays. When their season kicked off against the Texas Rangers last Friday, their starting lineup was arguably the deepest in the American League. Seven days later, the Blue Jays are back in Toronto in front of another crowd, but this time their lineup is severely depleted after Teoscar Hernandez and Danny Jansen's oblique injuries. In this case, it's important for additional players to step up, and that's exactly what happened when the Blue Jays beat the Athletics 4-1 in front of 35,415 fans at the Rogers Center on Jackie Robinson Day. First, however, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit another notable homer, and he led the entire baseball with five homers after a single-stroke in the first inning. He later became single and was considered the first of many intentional walks that year. But these kinds of games are not uncommon for Guerrero Jr., who joins Juan Soto and Mike Trout in any discussion of baseball's best bat. It's less certain what the Blue Jays can expect from their supporting cast, but Toronto can't hold out much hope in that regard. In his first start of the season, Ross Sterling failed to score in four innings before handing the ball over to the bullpen. That's exactly what the Blue Jays expect from the right-hander, who will start 19 games in 2021. "We needed at least four innings and he gave us this," manager Charlie Montoyo said. "He did a great job." Splitter is sure to have more starts this year, either because of injuries or just to give the rest of the starting rotation a breather. For now, he'll likely be back in the bullpen while the Blue Jays decide when they need him. "It's a very valuable role for the team," Stripling said. "Psychologically, I know I'm a huge asset, I can get out of any situation, and the other person knows I'm going to stay that way. I don't have to be Jacob deGrom, I don't have to be Jordan Romano .I'm somewhere in between." "I'm proud of this role and I want to be successful in this role." On offense, the Blue Jays' depth players were just as important on Friday. Right fielder Remel Tapia, who started in place of Hernandez, scored twice in his first multi-hit game with the Blue Jays. He also showed his speed in the second game as he scored with Santiago Espinal Dou from the start