Clement, Blue Jays earn 5-3 win over Angels

Jaws dropped in the Toronto Blue Jays dugout when Ernie Clement hit an above-the-shoulder-high fastball over the left-field wall for his third homer in three straight games on Thursday.

TORONTO – Jaws dropped in the Toronto Blue Jays dugout when Ernie Clement hit an above-the-shoulder-high fastball over the left-field wall for his third homer in three straight games on Thursday.

Hitters aren’t supposed to knock pitches that high out of the park, but Clement’s two-run shot highlighted a five-run second inning to push Toronto (60-68) to a series-opening 5-3 win against the Los Angeles Angels (54-74).

“I got to stop swinging at that pitch,” Clement said.

“I can’t do that very often. I’ve struck out on that pitch a couple of times this year. I was just trying to get the barrel of the ball with two strikes.”

The 96.7 mile-per-hour fastball was 4.60 feet off the ground, the second-highest pitch for a home run since pitch tracking began in 2008.

The highest was 4.61, but under different circumstances. New York Yankee Kyle Higashioka hit a floater from Chicago Cubs first baseman Frank Schwindel when he took to the mound late in a 2022 laugher.

“I think the whole dugout shared my sentiment of ‘holy crap,'” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “That’s usually a pop-up swing or a swing and a miss … it was pretty rare to see.”

The 28-year-old Clement has developed into a reliable everyday player this summer. The versatile infielder has enjoyed a .307 (31 for 101) average with five doubles, a triple, 4 home runs and 18 RBI in last 25 outings.