John Gibbons has been encouraged by the recent play of the Toronto Blue Jays, who have won seven of their last 10 games. Yet the Blue Jays manager isn’t about to start crunching the numbers and figuring out how long it will take for the team to recover from its disappointing 20-27 start.
“It doesn’t work that way,” he said Friday on Sportsnet 590 The FAN. “This game can surprise you a lot of ways. You can get on these big, big rolls that can take you to the top and it can also go the other way.”
While the team’s lineup has been producing runs in bunches recently, the starting rotation still contains considerable uncertainty. Sean Nolin, who had his contract selected from double-A New Hampshire, will become the tenth Blue Jays pitcher to start a game this season when he makes his MLB debut against the Baltimore Orioles Friday.
Gibbons told Roger Lajoie and Dirk Hayhurst on Baseball Central that the 23-year-old rookie is a savvy pitcher who knows what he’s doing on the mound. Getting some outs early could make the difference.
“Anybody in their debut you never know what to expect,” Gibbons said. “The key is can they settle in and relax.”
Kevin Gausman, the top Baltimore pitching prospect who made his MLB debut in Toronto Thursday, impressed Gibbons with his stuff and demeanor. The Blue Jays would be pleased to see similar composure from their own rookie pitcher Friday.
Though players such as Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista are now hitting as well as anticipated, Brett Lawrie continues to struggle. Gibbons said Lawrie has swung the bat better than the numbers might indicate.
“There’s been a number of times this year that he’s hit the ball right on the money and had nothing to show for it,” Lawrie. “He can do a lot of damage at the plate and defensively nobody’s better at third base.”
Lawrie, 23, is hitting .190/.254/.341 in 138 plate appearances for the Blue Jays this year.
Time remains for both Lawrie and the Blue Jays despite their slow starts. For the time being Gibbons is intent on embracing one of baseball’s most commonly repeated cliches and taking it one game at a time.
“We’re playing some pretty good baseball lately so we’ll just ride that.”