Blue Jays bank on Tulo, Martin lineup swap
Toronto Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons has swapped the middle of his lineup less than 24 hours after saying he wouldn't.
Troy Tulowitzki, who batted sixth for Toronto in Game 1 on Friday, will move up to fifth for Game 2 on Saturday, while Russell Martin drops down to sixth.
"We sit around and we've been talking for a while, as a coach or manager you sit there and you watch every day who's hot and who's not, that kind of thing. But I also believe we've been on a nice roll, winning a lot of games on a nice little streak," Gibbons said Saturday, courtesy of ASAP Sports. "I've watched it and experienced it, when things are going good, don't mess with things. Tulo has been hot, so we'll just flip those today. Since we got beat last night.
"But there is something to it, whether you like it or not, when things are going good, get out of the way, don't interrupt. I know some of you may not agree with that or like that but that is a fact."
The switch marks a complete 180 from what Gibbons had said on Friday. After the Blue Jays were shut out by the Cleveland Indians in Game 1, the skipper seemed averse to tweaking the order.
"No, because, you know, we've been playing good baseball, we've been running a certain - it's been working," he told reporters postgame on Friday. "You start screwing with things sometimes when there's not a need. It wasn't like we faced the average Joe out there and he struggled."
Though a small change, the switch could have a pronounced effect on the Blue Jays' ability to score runs. Toronto finished 0-for-5 in the series opener with runners in scoring position, with Martin leaving a team-high five men on base in the 2-0 loss. The backstop has mustered only one hit in the postseason thus far - a home run in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Texas Rangers - and struggled at the end of the regular season with only seven hits in his last 67 at-bats.
Tulowitzki, though, has been one of the Blue Jays' best hitters in the postseason, slashing .333/.333/.571 in 21 at-bats.