TORONTO — Easton Lucas was beaming Wednesday after limiting the Washington Nationals to one hit over five scoreless innings in his first major league start, a 4-2 interleague win for the Toronto Blue Jays.
There was more work ahead, however, for the 28-year-old from California.
“I got back (to the locker-room) and I had a couple of hundred text messages,” he said. “I haven’t gone through them yet because I was showering and getting ready for this (media scrum). I’m going to go over there and start responding as soon as I get the chance.”
One message that was particularly appreciated came in person from Max Scherzer, whom Lucas was filling in for due to the three-time Cy Young Award-winner’s sore thumb.
“Scherzer came up to me and said ‘Way to step up,’ said Easton. “That was awesome.”
Lucas (1-0) struck out three and walked two in a composed 74-pitch outing before an announced crowd of 20,104 at Rogers Centre.
“He was in total control … A really, really good day,” said Toronto manager John Schneider.
“It was awesome, it was huge,” added Jays outfielder George Springer, who homered to open the fourth inning. “He gave us everything that we needed.”
Lucas was making his 15th appearance in the majors. It was his second career win, having picked up the first in a relief effort with the Tigers in 2024.
A 14th-round pick (411th overall) by the Miami Marlins in the 2019 draft, the six-foot-four left-hander was claimed off waivers by Toronto in August from the Detroit Tigers. He appeared in two games for the Jays last season with 12 others split between Oakland and Detroit over his career.
“We’ve liked him since we’ve acquired him,” said Schneider. “And I think an outing like today does nothing but boost our confidence in him and hopefully it boosts his confidence in himself.”
Lucas made his MLB debut for Oakland in 2023.
“Good fastball, I think sneaky fastball. When his change-up’s on, I think he’s really good,” Schneider said before the game. “And a breaking ball … I want him to be convicted and stay on the attack. We saw glimpses of that last year.
“When he’s doing that, he’s pretty good and has the makings to be a pretty good major league pitcher.”
Lucas said his change-up was a “little inconsistent (on the day) but when I needed it, it was there for me.”
Toronto (5-2) also scored single runs in the first, fifth and sixth innings.
C.J. Abrams hit a solo homer off Jays reliever Brendon Little to open the sixth inning. Little, Chad Green, Yimi Garcia and Jeff Hoffman, with his third save, then retired 11 of the next 12 batters before Washington added a run in the ninth.
Toronto earned its first series sweep of the season. The team managed five sweeps in total last year.
The Jays have an off day Thursday before hitting the road for 10 games in 10 days with series against the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles. Kevin Gausman is slated to start Friday at Citi Field.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 205
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
