He is a tall drink of water, J.A. Happ, with quite possibly the best posture in Major League Baseball.
Watch him walk to the mound to pitch for the Toronto Blue Jays and there is nary a crimp in his 6-foot-5 frame. His shoulders are back, his head steady. He walks with an air of confidence.
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher J.A. Happ releases from mound during the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves in Toronto on Wednesday, June 20, 2018.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Happ could be ready for a military inspection by a drill sergeant at a moment’s notice.
His exacting precision extends to his craft, where he has developed into one of the game’s most dependable starters. He can nibble away at the corners with the best of them but also rear back and get you out via the strikeout.
Wednesday afternoon at Rogers Centre, it was vintage Happ, with the lefty dancing in and out of trouble against an up-and-coming Atlanta Braves outfit but never coming unhinged.
The 35-year-old was desperately seeking what would have been his first complete game since 2010 when he was still a member of the Houston Astros.
He came achingly close to that goal – just two outs away in the ninth inning to be precise – when Toronto manager John Gibbons made the slow walk to the mound to take Happ out of the game. After Happ surrendered two one-out singles to Freddie Freeman and then Nick Markakis, the complete game went up in smoke.
“I wanted it,” Happ declared afterward.
There was still work to do despite a three-run Toronto lead.
Happ left the mound to a generous standing ovation from the more than 45,000 in attendance for the early afternoon start. He turned the ball over to Ryan Tepera, who has slid into the closer’s role in the continued absence of Roberto Osuna.
Tepera wobbled – surrendering singles to Kurt Suzuki and then Ender Inciarte that brought in two Atlanta runs that would cut the Toronto lead to one.
But Tepera would ultimately succeed, getting Johan Camargo to fly out to centre to conclude a crackerjack of a game with the Blue Jays holding on for a 5-4 victory.
With the win, Happ improved to 9-3 on the year.
He surrendered the four Atlanta runs on eight hits while striking out eight over 8⅓ innings. In doing so, he became the first pitcher this season with four starts of eight-plus strikeouts and no walks.
Gibbons said he has seriously considered letting Happ go the distance, but logic got the better of him after sensing his starter was obviously tiring.
Also, with the next batter being Suzuki, who had already taken Happ deep with a home run back in the second inning, there was no room for any sentimentality.
“But another great performance,” Gibbons said of Happ. “They came out swinging, probably more than any team we’ve seen. They came out swinging early. But just another tremendous job by Happer.”
Happ said he would have considered fighting Gibbons’s decision to yank him “if I thought it would have done any good,” he said with a smile. “I think he knew where I was at and he let me go through, have the two hitters there, for the matchup up I feel like.
“I had my chance and it just didn’t fall my way.”
In what logic will tell you is already a lost year for the 34-39 Blue Jays, even with more than half of the season to go, the irony is not lost on the club that Happ’s continued excellence on the mound will also hasten his exit to another team.
Heading into the July 31 trade deadline, Happ is sure to be a hot commodity for those playoff contenders seeking another front-line starter to improve their postseason chances.
“I know he’s in demand, I can see why,” Gibbons said. “If we were on the other end of it, I’d want him, too. That’s the reality of the business and who knows what happens. I’m sure he’s probably going to be top of the list out there of guys that could be acquired.”
Happ has already been traded four times during his 12-year MLB career, so he understands the nature of the beast.
He gets it that the better he performs, the more likely he will be moving on from a city that he has an emotional attachment to, and vice versa judging from Wednesday’s warm sendoff by the fans.
“I certainly enjoy pitching here and having an outing and a response from the crowd like I did [on Wednesday],” he said. “That was nice. I signed to play here and try to help this team get to the playoffs, and that’s still my goal. That’s what I want to do.
“So until somebody tells me different, I’m going to have fun doing that.”
After the game, the Blue Jays jetted off to begin a seven-game road trip, beginning in California on Thursday night with a series against the Los Angeles Angels.
Gibbons confirmed that starting pitcher Marcus Stroman, out since May 9 with what the club has described as right shoulder fatigue, will return to the team and get the start in Saturday’s game.