Bo Bichette is thriving in returning to the Blue Jays lineup

TORONTO — For the first time in 48 days, Bo Bichette was in the Blue Jays lineup on Friday.

For the first time in 2,382 days, he was playing second base.

In Game 1 of the World Series, no less.

But Bichette delivered on both sides of the ball, going 1-for-2 with a walk and making a run-saving power play in the third inning as The Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 11-4 At the Rogers Center.

“I just tried to slow the game down and treat it like any other game,” Bichette said. “Just join the class and get good shots, just like everyone else does.”

Bichette had been sidelined since September 6 due to a sprain in his left knee after a collision with Yankees outfielder Austin Wells.

The shortstop was still too physically limited to join the Blue Jays roster for the ALDS or ALCS, but he was finally cleared to join the World Series roster — even if he hadn’t fully recovered yet.

During his rehab process, Bichette came to the Blue Jays with the idea of ​​playing second base — he played 30 games there in the minors, and hasn’t played a game since 2019 — because he could get ready faster there.

The Blue Jays were OK with that as a way to insert Bichette’s bat into the lineup — cleaning up batting behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — coming off a season in which he hit .311 with an .840 OPS, while keeping Andrés Giménez (who offers more defense) at shortstop.

But then the Blue Jays bailed defensively in the third inning.

The Dodgers actually took a 2-0 lead and got second when Teoscar Hernandez hit a ground ball up the middle.

Bichette ranged to the other side of second base, hit the ball with a backhander and then turned to pull off a throw strong enough to single out Hernandez for the second run of the inning.

“Just let the athleticism take over,” said Bichette, who limped after the play but stayed put until he was hit by a hit by Isiah Keener-Faleeva in the sixth inning.

When Shohei Ohtani came to bat in the ninth inning, the crowd serenaded him with chants of “We don’t need you!” Ohtani snubbed the Blue Jays in free agency two years ago to sign with the Dodgers.

“Don’t hit the bear,” right-hander Chris Bassett said.

Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, a walk and two strikeouts.

The Dodgers kept Alex Vesia off their roster after announcing Thursday that the reliever was stepping away from the team “to deal with a deeply personal family matter.” They could have kept him in play later in the series by placing him on the family’s emergency medical list (which requires being out for at least three days), but they chose not to do so.

“We didn’t want to have any potential for any kind of pressure,” President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman said. “This is so much bigger than baseball. For us, it was about doing every little part we could and just supporting him a hundred percent.”

In light of the NBA gambling scandal, MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark said he still is We are concerned about the “safety and well-being of our players.”

“We have worked closely with the league to ensure the safety and well-being of our players,” Clark said Friday. “This remains front and center. This, along with educating our players, and making sure they understand what they can and cannot do, is constant and ongoing. But rest assured, every time a gambling situation arises, the anxiety does not get less, it gets worse.”

Cito Gaston, the Blue Jays’ coach to their only two World Series titles, in 1992 and 1993, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Joe Carter, whose three-run homer ended the 1993 World Series, will throw out the first pitch before game two.