The Blue Jays dugout hollered and cheered when Santiago Espinal ambushed a Justin Verlander fastball.
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As Espinal jogged around the Houston bases with a stone-cold, emotionless face, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grabbed Toronto's home run jacket and prepared to place it on the infielder's shoulders. Espinal’s first dinger of the season—pulled beyond the left-field Crawford Boxes and into the deep left-center gap—clawed the Jays within a run, punctuating an all-around night for Espinal in Toronto's 4-3 win over Houston.
Before Espinal could even complete his post-homer dugout celebration he was sprinting to the steps, stripping off the jacket to hand it to the next guy. On the very next pitch, Bradley Zimmer poked at another Verlander heater. The fly ball drifted into left, finding the first row and tagging the Houston future-Hall-of-Famer for back-to-back dingers.
Though the consecutive solo shots drew Toronto even, the game wouldn't have even been within reach without Espinal's play on the other side of the ball.
With bases loaded in the third, the infielder darted to his left off the crack of the bat. He dove in the air, snagging a Yordan Álvarez dart and crashing to the dirt. Having already saved Ross Stripling and the Jays a pair of runs, Espinal popped up with ball in hand, looking for a potential double play.
"[Espinal] can play defense in his sleep," Bo Bichette said earlier this year. "It doesn’t really matter what position, he’s very gifted.
In the seventh, Espinal came charging in on a high bouncing ball that Adam Cimber watched soar over his head. The second baseman started back behind the bag, but came in, bare-handed the ball off the third bounce, and fired a strike over to Guerrero at first. Though Jeremy Peña was initially called safe on the play, a Charlie Montoyo challenge and Astro fan moans soon confirmed the out.
Espinal's Friday heroism was outdone only by the man who pushed him from third to second base this season. With Guerrero Jr. bouncing off first base with two outs in the ninth, Matt Chapman reached out for a fastball away, stroking a liner into the cavernous Houston left field. On the hit, Guerrero flew around the bases, ditching his helmet and drenched in sweat as he slid across home with the leading run. As the first basemen returned to the road dugout, he collapsed onto the bench.
Though Guerrero's exhausted run pushed Toronto ahead for good, Espinal's deciding plays were the true driving force on Friday.
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