Ernie

Clement

Clement was the extent of Toronto’s offense from his homer, as the second batter of the game, until the seventh inning when Bailey Ober’s day was over. Not a flashy player, but Clement has accounted for 11 homers and 11 stolen bases in 116 games this season. Both are career bests by a wide margin.

Clement had just one hit in his last five games entering play Thursday. He drove in a run with an RBI double in the sixth inning. The stolen base was his 10th of the year. Clement’s hitting .262 with 10 home runs and 45 RBI on the year.

Clement’s home run was his 10th of the year. He hit a two-run shot off Mike Baumann in the second inning. It’s Clement’s third straight game with a home run. He has four home runs in his last seven games and is 8-for-27 (.296) with nine RBI over that time. Clement is hitting .272 with a .732 OPS and 42 RBI on the year.

Jiménez was removed from Saturday’s game with soreness in his right knee, and it’s not a big surprise to see him get Sunday off. The 23-year-old will sit while Ernie Clement gets a start at shortstop and hit second.

Clement got the scoring started with a two-run blast off Tyler Anderson in the second inning. He later tripled to lead off the sixth and scored on a sacrifice fly. The 28-year-old third baseman is up to seven homers, 35 RBI, and eight steals while slashing .273/.293/.416 across 299 plate appearances.

Clement got a shot to lead-off with George Springer getting a day off and did great in that spot. He started the game off with a single and then knocked in a run next time around. His time atop the lineup will likely be short-lived, but Clement plays nearly every day and is a good source of batting average. The two steals don’t hurt either.

Clement put his Blue Jays first up 3-0 in the first inning with a two-run double and then 5-2 in the third a run-scoring hit. He’s found himself in the middle of more than a few rallies of late as he’s on a bit of a heater with hits in seven of his last eight games. He also has multiple hits in four of those eight and is becoming a strong yet sneaky source of both batting average and RBI.

Clement played hero in this one with a late single to win it on a first pitch splitter from Kirby Yates. He has an unorthodox approach with a 7.8 K%, 2.3 BB%, and 58.8% swing rate (48.8% is the major league average, but has maintained a .258 batting average this season with his put-everything-in-play style. He’s a fun dart throw if you need a boost in that category.

After going yard against the Giants on Tuesday, Clement went deep once again, blasting a three-run homer off Logan Webb in the fifth inning. He drove in a fourth run with a base hit in the sixth. Clement led off the eighth with a single and scored again on a double by George Springer. The 28-year-old infielder is hitting .261/.276/.432 with six homers, 22 runs scored, 21 RBI, and three steals across 183 plate appearances.

The Jays have gone with Clement as their primary third baseman with Isiah Kiner-Falefa out, though it looks like IKF might be back right after the All-Star break. If that happens, Clement should return to his utility role. He’s one of many candidates to be traded by the Blue Jays later this month, though it’s quite possible that he’ll stay put and play regularly in the infield during the final two months.