Teoscar Hernandez is congratulated after scoring in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at Rogers Centre Sunday.John E. Sokolowski
The only rookie miscue committed by Teoscar Hernandez occurred after the game when he was nowhere to be found.
After going 3-for-4 with two home runs and driving in five in the Toronto Blue Jays' 8-2 dismantling of the Detroit Tigers at Rogers Centre on Sunday afternoon, the 24-year-old was naturally much sought-after by the media.
Except Hernandez could not be found, his locker vacated by the time reporters were allowed into the Toronto clubhouse.
A sheepish Blue Jays official eventually informed the gathering that Hernandez had apparently quickly showered and changed and left to be with family and friends while the press was in another corner of the building speaking with Blue Jays manager John Gibbons.
Pitcher Joe Biagini offered to step in and pinch-hit in the absence of Hernandez.
"I hit four home runs in high school in case anyone wants to talk to me," Biagini offered.
There were no takers.
With little left to play for this year, the future is on full display for the Blue Jays these days and Sunday was no exception.
Hernandez started in left field and Richard Urena, just 21, made his fifth successive start at shortstop. Both were brought up to the big-league team as part of September minor-league call-ups, along with pitcher Luis Santos.
And all three contributed to Toronto's win, which completed a 2-1 series victory over Detroit in a weekend battle between non-playoff-contending teams.
Urena looked pretty comfortable at shortstop in spite of a fifth-inning error on a routine ground ball by Dixon Machado. He got the Toronto offence rolling early, shooting a single to centre in the first inning batting leadoff.
With two out, the Blue Jays utilized his speed, and had him run on a pitch to Kendrys Morales. Morales came through by lacing a shot through the hole vacated by Machado, the Detroit shortstop who moved over to cover second.
Urena put it into overdrive after that, racing home on the play, and the Blue Jays led 1-0.
Urena played this past season for Toronto's Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire.
After Toronto grabbed the early lead it fell on Hernandez to build upon it, and he did so in impressive fashion.
Coming over to the Blue Jays at the trade deadline as part of the deal that sent starter Francisco Liriano to the Houston Astros, Hernandez launched his first home run as a Blue Jay in the bottom of the fourth, a two-run shot to straightaway centre that increased the Toronto lead to 3-0.
After Detroit pulled to within one in the top of the fifth following a two-run home run by Ian Kinsler, Hernandez responded in the bottom of the frame with a three-run shot.
It was part of a six-hit, four-run inning that put the game out of reach for the Tigers.
The multihomer game was the first in Hernandez's major-league career. He is the first Blue Jays rookie to accomplish that feat since J.P. Arencibia cranked out two against the Texas Rangers in July, 2011.
"Today was a big day for him, no doubt about that," Gibbon said of his left fielder.
Toronto starter J.A. Happ (8-10) had another workmanlike six-inning performance in which he held the Tigers to two runs (one earned) off five hits and nine strike outs. Santos finished the job. Working the last three innings, Santos kept the Tigers off the board and allowed two hits with two strikeouts to earn his first major-league save.
Third baseman Darwin Barney, who enjoyed a 4-for-4 day at the plate, said the youthful enthusiasm of the minor-league call-ups is a breath of fresh air in the clubhouse.
"If you've been around the game for a while, it's nice to see the wide-eyed look, the excitement and bring some energy to these games where maybe both teams are not necessarily where they want to be," Barney said. "There's a lot to be played for right now for some people, so it was fun to watch."