It had been more than two decades since a Bichette homered at Coors Field — until Monday night. Bo Bichette, son of Rockies legend Dante Bichette, launched two towering home runs and drove in a career-high six RBIs, leading the Toronto Blue Jays to a dominant 15-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
The Blue Jays piled up 25 hits in the win, with all nine starters recording a hit by the third inning. While the offensive outburst was a team effort, Bichette’s power display — reminiscent of his father’s heyday with the Blake Street Bombers — was the clear headliner, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
"Him and Vladdy are kind of the same,” said manager John Schneider. “They’re up there with hard-hit balls in the league and it just depends on if you clip a mistake or you get the ball out in front a little bit. When he’s hitting the ball over the fence, it’s just a really, really complete hitter.”
It had been over 25 years since a Bichette last homered at Coors Field, back when Bo’s father, Dante, hit the last of his 111 home runs in this city. Monday, Bichette set a career high with six RBI in a single game, something his father did just twice in his career at Coors Field.
“I wanted to hit a homer here,” Bichette said. “I don’t think it really felt how I thought it might feel, but I wanted to get one.”
Dante was a late bloomer who’d peaked at 27 home runs before his breakout season with 40 in 1995, but he was older than Bo by then in his age-31 season. That’s the year the Blake Street Bombers were born right here in Denver with Bichette alongside Larry Walker, Vinny Castilla and Andres Galarraga.
That’s not going to be the Blue Jays’ identity. Even the 2015-’16 Blue Jays teams feel so far from these ones, leaning more on the big blows from the star-studded heart of their order in Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnación.
This version of the Blue Jays is built to get a little bit of everything from everyone on the roster -- all nine starters had a hit by the third inning Monday night -- but they still need that game-changing upside, and there’s no better flavor than power. That’s what can flip a 2-2 series to 3-1 in October.
Daulton Varsho joined the party, too, launching a 451-foot shot to right field that was tied for the longest home run of his MLB career. It’s Varsho’s first home run since returning from a long IL stint, but there’s legitimate, game-changing power in there, just like there is with Bichette. We may not see it 50 times a season, but when these bursts are coming consistently from up and down the lineup, the Blue Jays are their most dangerous selves.
“This is just a great group. It’s a lot of guys willing to do whatever it takes to win,” Bichette said. “That rubs off on everybody and that’s my only focus coming to the field, how I can help the team win. It seems to be everybody else’s as well. It’s just a great group to be a part of.”
Bichette has always been more eager to talk about his teammates than himself. That’s where he’s most comfortable with the praise and attention landing, but it’s difficult to dodge the spotlight when you’re playing like this, especially on a team like this.
"Comfortable” has a different definition for everyone, but that’s the word his manager keeps coming back to. Schneider has seen Bichette since he was a teenager, stretching back to when he and Guerrero were the best prospect duo in baseball. Bichette doesn’t need laser-sharp mechanics or viral hitting tips, he just needs to feel like himself, free and easy.
It’s happening again.
"I’m just trying to stay in the moment,” Bichette said. “Whatever my plan is, I commit to it. Leave the past in the past, the future for the future. Just be in the moment. I think I’m doing a good job of that.”
The future’s looking brighter now. With a good Bichette, the Blue Jays are a playoff team. With Bichette the star, launching home runs on top of those pesky, marathon at-bats, everything changes.
