Outfielder Nathan Lukes shared before a weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks that he’d been dealing with vertigo symptoms, which could explain his brutal start to open the regular season as the Toronto Blue Jays‘ primary right fielder.
“I don’t know where (the vertigo) came from and how it happened, but it’s hard to hit when the world is spinning and when you feel like you could throw up at any second,” Lukes told reporters, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.
Davidi relayed that Lukes met with a specialist in Phoenix prior to a matchup against the Diamondbacks on Friday, April 17. He didn’t start that game, but came off the bench and delivered a pinch-hit single. The veteran outfielder had his best two games of the year over the weekend, piling up six hits and three RBI across Saturday and Sunday.
Toronto Blue Jays Outfielder Nathan Lukes Battles Vertigo, Comes Through With Massive Weekend
GettyNathan Lukes slides into second base against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Lukes came into the series against the Diamondbacks with just two hits the entire season. He opened April with a miserable 0-for-23 stretch. Lukes was hitting .065 with a .182 OPS before the trip to Arizona. He picked up some exercises to address the vertigo symptoms during the visit with the specialist. They helped improve his vision and boost his performance, per Davidi.
Manager John Schneider put Lukes in the leadoff spot on Saturday, April 18, against right-hander Zac Gallen. The move immediately paid off, as the outfielder opened the game with a single, then came around to score on an RBI knock from Jesus Sanchez. Lukes picked up two more base hits later in the game, but would be stranded both times. Jeff Hoffman entered a tie game in the eighth inning and permitted a go-ahead grand slam off the bat of Corbin Carroll, sealing the 6-2 loss.
Toronto got back in the win column on Sunday, April 19, with Lukes as the driving force behind a ridiculous first inning. The Blue Jays jumped all over starter Ryne Nelson, putting eight runs on the board before the Diamondbacks had a chance to hit. Lukes once again led off the game with a single and came around to score on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. base hit. He came up for a second time in the inning with the bases loaded and drove home everyone with a bases-clearing double. Lukes doubled again in the third inning. The pair of two-baggers were his first extra-base hits of the campaign.
Blue Jays Dealing With Offensive Struggles
The 10-run outing on Sunday was a welcome sight for a Blue Jays offense that has struggled all season. Toronto had managed just seven runs total in the four games heading into the third matchup against Arizona.
Even after the strong showing in the final game of the Diamondbacks series, the club ranks just 23rd in scoring. Power has been hard to come by this year. The Blue Jays rank 22nd in home runs and 24th in ISO. No player has more than three homers on the squad.
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