Bichette helps Blue Jays complete White Sox sweep

It took 40 games for Bo Bichette to reach five home runs last season. This year, it took him just 24.

TORONTO – It took 40 games for Bo Bichette to reach five home runs last season. This year, it took him just 24.

Bichette had a homer and two RBI singles as the Toronto Blue Jays swept the Chicago White Sox with an 8-0 victory on Wednesday afternoon. The three-hit game brought Bichette up to a .340 batting average on the young season and got him to the five-homer mark nearly a full month earlier than last year.

“I’m just taking it day-by-day, pitch-by-pitch, even,” said Bichette, who also has 15 RBIs. “I’m just trying to make adjustments as quick as I can and pay attention to the game, pay attention to myself.

“But at the same time, I’m not too worried about homers.”

Whit Merrifield stretched his on-base streak to 19 games with a hit in the fourth and a two-run single in the seventh for Toronto (16-9). Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in two runs with a double and Santiago Espinal added an RBI single.

The Blue Jays have won four straight, including the three-game sweep of Chicago, to sit third in the hyper-competitive American League East.

“I think we’re playing well. I mean, this series in particular, everything was clicking: offence, defence, pitching,” said Bichette. “When everything’s going like that, good things are going to happen but we’ve got to keep on competing every day and keep on getting after it.”

Yusei Kikuchi (4-0) struck out eight and held the White Sox to just four hits and a walk over 5 2/3 innings. Relievers Erik Swanson, Yimi Garcia, and Trevor Richards preserved his win.