Blue Jays New Dugout Celebration Breathing Fire Into Struggling Offense
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There isn't a person in baseball right now who doesn't know about the disappointing season the Toronto Blue Jays are having after coming inches away from a Fall Classic title. They have been unable to get much going in terms of momentum, especially the offense.
The Jays were shut out in a pair of games and tallied up one of the longest consecutive scoreless innings as they went nearly three games without putting anything on the board. So, to say they were in need of mixing things up would be an understatement.
So, going into game two between Toronto and the San Francisco Giants, their skipper really mixed things up in terms of the hitting lineup, with Sean Keys, Brandon Valenzuela, and Jonatan Clase all getting the start, as well as some changes in the order itself, including Ernie Clement as the leadoff man.
I arrived at the ballpark today wondering what I'd write about. I did not foresee it being a stuff dragon on a stick. Living the dream. pic.twitter.com/6sPf5phLGY
— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) July 8, 2026
Immediately, the Jays were getting traffic on the bags, and it was the three young guns who really got something going in their first at-bats of the game. Valenzuela led it off with a single that dropped perfectly, Keys followed suit, and right behind him, Clase smoked a bomb in his first start of the season.
Now, when he made it back to the dugout, it wasn't a blue home run jacket waiting for him, but the red one that is only used on Canada Day. Then, when he was physically inside, he showed off a stuffed dragon on a stick.
Now, it is unsure as to whether the different homer antics will continue on, but with how well things went in their nine-to-three victory, it would be silly to mix things up.
Highlight Reel in California
It was finally coming together, and rather quickly for that matter, as the first two men in the game got aboard the bags, but as seen far too often Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded into one of the easiest double plays seen turned this year.
So, the first comes to a close quickly, but in the second inning, the three-run homer came from Clase. Then, factor in that the third was even kinder to Toronto as they started it with three consecutive hits and finished the inning with six hits to complement five more runs.
The Blue Jays are creeping up on a point of no return as they sit 5+ games under .500. But the entire AL has struggled this season meaning they are still in the fight for a wild card. However, the only way out is forward, and they have no time to take any more steps back.
If that means a stuffed dragon on a stick so be it.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.