Davis Schneider dong leads Toronto Blue Jays to 8-3 rout of Cleveland Guardians

The Davis Schneider Show continues to roll along.

While it may not be at the pace that fans are hopeful for when it comes to the 24-year-old 28th-round pick, he’s continuing to make the most of his chances.

That rang true again on Saturday afternoon when he launched a two-run jack 384 feet over the left-field wall and into the second row. For Schneider, it was one of three hits that saw him go 3-for-3 at the plate while taking a walk.

What’s clear is that even if Schneider isn’t able to find a regular spot in the lineup right now, he’s a very valuable part of this team and he’s proving his ability to be ready when called upon. In 10 games and 40 plate appearances, he’s slashing .424/.525/.848 with a 1.373 OPS with four home runs and six walks. Whether or not he’s striking out at a 40 per cent clip, his 22 days in the big leagues have been nothing short of productive.

Hyun-Jin Ryu, meanwhile, took the mound for the Jays and had a rather unassuming outing — solo home runs allowed to Jose Ramirez and Tyler Freeman aside — until the top of the sixth inning. There, he allowed a single to Kole Calhoun and fielding errors by Matt Chapman and Santiago Espinal loaded up the bases.

Yimi Garcia came into the game ending Ryu’s outing, and after throwing balls well outside the zone away from Ramon Laureano, his third pitch ran inside hitting him and driving in a run. From there, Garcia’s next 14 pitches caught the next three Guardians batters striking out swinging.

Ryu’s afternoon wasn’t perfect, and his ERA climbed from 1.89 up to 2.25, but he was very effective once again. Fourty-nine of his 70 pitches found the strike zone as he allowed four just four hits: the aforementioned home runs and single, as well as a double to Cam Gallagher in the top of the third. He walked no batters and struck out five of the 21 batters he faced.

The Jays bullpen was magnificent once again, but there’s cause for concern as Erik Swanson left the game with mid-back soreness on his right side. He had entered the game to replace Garcia in the top of the seventh, and on his eighth pitch — a slider that Myles Straw singled off of — Swanson immediately hunched over clearly ailing.

Tim Mayza replaced him finishing the inning, while Trevor Richards struck out two batters in the eighth and ninth to close out the game.

Bo Bichette was the one who got the Jays on the board first with a single into left field scoring Whit Merrifield before Schneider’s home run came, all in the top of the first.

Other scoring instances came in thanks to Schneider, whose double in the bottom of the fourth kicked off a rally that saw Chapman and Espinal both drive in runs. In the bottom of the seventh, Schneider drove in another run to keep a rally alive as Daulton Varsho — with the bases loaded — drove in two runs.

After Varsho reached base, he tried to steal on the first pitch but got caught in part due to his knee getting jammed on the base and him flying overtop it. While it initially appeared to be a serious injury, Varsho was no worse for wear heading to the dugout for his fielding glove chasing down a fly ball to end the top of the eighth.

The Blue Jays will look to win game three of the series on Sunday afternoon for a 1:37 p.m. EST first pitch as Yusei Kikuchi takes the mound opposite Noah Syndergaard.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.