Blue Jays' Ben Revere hits leadoff as Tulowitzki gets 'breather'
Manager Gibbons says he likes 'Tulo' at top of order
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons says Ben Revere hit in the leadoff spot in Sunday's series finale against Detroit to give Troy Tulowitzki "a little bit of a breather."
Well, the respite extended into Monday's series opener versus the visiting Cleveland Indians, making some wonder if Revere would receive an extended look atop the batting order, where he batted regularly in his previous major league stops with Minnesota and Philadelphia.
The 27-year-old went 0-for-4 with a walk from the leadoff spot on Sunday.
After going hitless in his first four games (13 at-bats) as a Blue Jay, Revere has had at least one hit in 16 of the 22 contests since, including eight multi-hit performances.
He hit .514 (19-for-37) during a nine-game hitting streak from Aug. 19-29, including four-hit efforts against the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 21 and in Saturday's 15-1 drubbing of the Tigers, and entered Monday night's game with a .316 mark for August and .371 on-base percentage.
During the same nine-game stretch, Tulowitzki went 10-for-41 (.244) in the leadoff role and he's hitting .210 this month with a .319 OBP. On Sunday, he went 1-for-4 from the fifth spot in the order, doubling to right field on a ball that one-hopped the fence.
Gibbons told reporters on Sunday he likes having Tulowitzki at the top of the order and it's easy to see why since Toronto had won 24 of 29 games through Sunday since the shortstop's arrival from Colorado in a July 28 trade.
"Maybe this will jump-start him a little bit," said Gibbons of Tulowitzki hitting in the middle of the lineup.
If not, maybe he returns to the leadoff role and the Blue Jays keep winning.