Joey Loperfido showcases power by hitting his first HR with the Jays

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With so much hefty lifting that awaits regardless of who ultimately calls the shots, an intriguing question involves Bowden Francis.

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It would shock many if the righty isn’t part of the Blue Jays’ 2025 opening-day roster, barring a trade that is, but his precise role needs to be established.

He’s only getting better, has expanded his pitching repertoire and for what it’s worth his recent starts have been in line with the type of outings a staff ace would summon.

As auditions go, Francis continues to impress as he makes a compelling case that he belongs in next year’s starting rotation.

Through five innings at Wrigley Field Sunday, Francis had given up only two hits, a dribbler and a bloop, while striking out five.

He was staked to a 1-0 lead on a blast by Joey Loperfido, whose touted power finally emerged.

The run stood as the day’s only run in a 1-0 win that avoided a Windy City sweep.

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Resorting to his fastball and splitter, Francis was making it look easy, almost too easy, which isn’t easily done.

In his previous two starts, Francis threw 81 pitches in each outing, including a career performance in Anaheim where Francis gave up one hit, a solo home run, in seven complete innings.

Against the Cubs, his 80th pitch led to a Seiya Suzuki strikeout as Francis increased his whiff total to six.

Things became interesting when Francis gave up a one-out double in the seventh, the first legitimate hit he surrendered, as he faced his first real threat.

One strikeout, one pop out later and Francis had passed the test in going seven complete innings in back-to-back starts.

Francis threw 95 pitches, including 71 for strikes that neatly summed up why he was so successful.

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Genesis Cabrera entered the game after Ryan Burr issued a two-out walk.

Once the third out was recorded, the Jays’ fate was placed in the hands of Chad Green, who had gone 12-for-12 in his previous save situations.

A one-out single added to the late-game drama before a fly ball in right field was handled by George Springer.

The Cubs were down to their final out, but they did have the tying run in scoring position following a stolen base.

A groundout ended the game as the Jays won their first 1-0 game of the season.

All three games at Wrigley were decided by a total of three runs.

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CENTRE CUT

Plenty of pent-up frustration was unleashed in Loperfido’s first at-bat, which came in the second inning in a scoreless game with two outs.

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While Loperfido seems to have all the tools, his nasty penchant for striking out is hard to ignore.

When his power bat gets showcased, it’s easy to envision a 2025 starting lineup with Loperfido in left field.

With Daulton Varsho getting the day off, the Jays had Loperfido in centre field.

Varsho hit his 15th home run in Wednesday’s series finale against the Angels.

In Sunday’s series finale against the Cubs, Loperfido turned on a high pitch and sent it deep over the right-field wall to record his third long ball.

It was his first as a Blue Jay, allowing Loperfido to be fitted with the team’s home run jacket.

In his previous 43 at-bats with the Jays, Loperfido struck out 19 times, while recording six hits, including one for extra bases.

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Entering the day, he had knocked in one run since Loperfido’s trade from Houston.

A left-handed hitter, Loperfido took Cubs starter Shota Imanaga, who throws left, deep as the Jays jumped out first for the first time during the series after Chicago went deep in its first at-bats in each of the previous two games.

Loperfido’s solo shot went a Statcast-measured 409 feet.

In the ninth inning he stroked a one-out single, perhaps showing he’s getting more comfortable in his new surroundings.

DAVIS IS AMISS

Somehow, some way, Davis Schneider has to get off the schneid, no pun intended.

When he faced former teammate Nate Pearson, Schneider struck out swinging on three pitches with the bases loaded.

He entered Sunday on an 0-for-19 streak of futility.

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In his first at-bat, Schneider popped out in foul territory near first base.

In his second, Schneider struck out on four pitches to extend his streak of striking out at least once in 13 straight games.

At least Schneider reached base in his third at-bat when he drew a walk

A year ago, Schneider became the talk of baseball after the Jays called him up in early August for a weekend series in Boston.

In the 14 games played during the month, Schneider hit six home runs, including a belt in his very first at-bat that landed in the back row of the Green Monster seats at Fenway Park.

In his first game played at Wrigley, Schneider went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

Sunday, he went hitless and entered Toronto’s six-game homestand on an 0-for-22 slide at the plate.

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KNEED TO KNOW

During the first of the day’s two rain delays, the Jays were forced into making a roster re-alignment when Leo Jimenez, who started at shortstop Saturday, tweaked his knee when backing up the bag at third base on an attempted steal.

The good news is the Jays don’t believe it’s serious.

For now, no testing on Jimenez is required.

He’s been quite solid when asked to play and has even shown occasional power at the plate.

Much like many on the current big-league roster, Jimenez’s body of work is far too small to draw any definitive conclusions.

The more a healthy Jimenez is on the field, the better the Jays can properly evaluate him.

When he was removed from Saturday’s game, the Jays had Ernie Clement, who began the afternoon at third base, at shortstop.

Clement started at short Sunday and committed an error on a routine ball with two outs in the fourth inning as the Cubs had the bases loaded.

Francis picked up Clement by striking out Dansby Swanson on a called third strike in an at-bat when Francis benefited from a call from home plate umpire Jim Wolf.

Wolf made the absolute correct call when he rang up Swanson, much to the chagrin of Swanson and Cubs fans, in the home half of the seventh inning.

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