Alejandro

Kirk

Kirk’s homer was a two-run shot off Logan Gilbert in the bottom of the first, handing Toronto a lead they would never surrender. He’s been one of the Blue Jays’ most valuable offensive players despite all the time he’s missed, ranking first on the team in strikeout rate, batting average, and on-base percentage. He’ll head into 2027 drafts as a strong batting-average option at a position where that’s a rare skill.

It’s a bit surprising to see Kirk rested in two of the last six games. Especially when he’s hitting .338/.415/.513 this month. Brandon Valenzuela will don the tools of ignorance against RHP Emerson Hancock.

Kirk singled in the top of the fifth inning to bring home Brett Bateman, giving the Jays their first and only run of the night against Cam Schlittler. Kirk’s single extended his hitting streak to 10 games, and he’s slashing a scorching .387/.467/.613 in the month of August.

Kirk’s homer was a solo shot off Drew Rasmussen in the fourth inning, the first long ball he has allowed since the All-Star break. It was also the second straight game in which Kirk left the yard, and he entered Wednesday hitting .392 in August. The 27-year-old backstop has the highest wRC+ on the Blue Jays this season.

Kirk’s home run was his sixth of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Nick Martinez in the third inning. Injuries have limited Kirk to 51 games so far this season, but he’s produced when he’s been available. He’s hitting .279 with a .774 OPS and 25 RBI this year.

Kirk put the Jays on the board in the sixth inning when he doubled off Gerrit Cole to bring home George Springer. In the eighth inning, he blasted a solo homer to extend the Jays’ lead to 3-1, which proved to be plenty in a game that saw the Yankees struggle all night offensively. Kirk is off to a blistering start in August, as he’s currently slashing .385/.435/.564 with three extra-base hits and nine RBI.

Kirk struggled for a while after returning from his fractured thumb, but he’s hitting .312 with a 10/12 K/BB in 89 plate appearances since the beginning of July. He’s 10-for-25 with a homer in his last seven games.

Kirk is batting .204 with one homer and five RBI in 16 games since returning from a fractured thumb. He did have four hard-hit balls in his previous start on Friday, but in addition to striking out once, his balls in play today were hit just 62, 48 and 80 mph.

Kirk came into this one 7-for-32 (.219) since he was activated off the injured list on June 12. Leading off the sixth inning, he took Joe Ross deep for a solo homer. It was just the second home run all season for Kirk, while slashing .196/.246/.339 across 61 plate appearances.

Kirk started three games in a row from June 14-17, but he’s played just five of nine since, as the Jays are working in Bandon Valenzuela quite a bit more often than they did Tyler Heineman. It doesn’t help that Kirk is hitting only .226/.265/.258 in nine games since coming off the IL. Valenzuela is hitting .286/.340/.571 in his 13 games this month.