Our weekly look at one item tying together each of the Red Sox' opponents takes a glance at the Blue Jays, who picked up right where they left off by hammering balls all over Rogers Centre in an Opening Day rout.
New Toronto manager John Farrell has promised to bring a few new looks to the Blue Jays' offense after a year in which they survived almost exclusively on home runs. After a 13-3 spanking of the Minnesota Twins that saw the Jays go deep four times, perhaps Farrell will be content to just sit back and relax.
Two of the four homers were struck by catcher J.P. Arencibia. Jose Bautista, the league-leader in that category last year, wasted little time in getting his first of 2011, and Adam Lind, one of the keys to the club's success this year after an extremely disappointing 2010 campaign, chipped in a solo blast in the fifth that made it 8-0.
Toronto added a triple (Arencibia) and a double (Aaron Hill) to give them six extra-base hits out of 12 overall, very much in line with their slugging ways of a year ago. To make Farrell happy, they did steal two bags and drive in three runs with sacrifice flies.
If Lind and Hill can bounce back, and if Farrell's bunch can seamlessly mix the big bombs with a bit of small ball, Toronto's attack could be potent once again.
