There is plenty of room on the Blue Jays bandwagon these days. Hop on now and get first-class seats. They’re practically giving spots away. After a disastrous couple of weeks for once division leaders, the Jays have played themselves into what fans can only hope is a thrilling race for a playoff spot. After dropping a series with the lowly Tampa Bay Rays—their fourth straight series loss—Toronto now sits third in the AL East with Detroit Tigers right on their heels for the second Wild Card spot.
The good news is that the Jays are still only two games back of the division-leading Red Sox. But let’s be honest: Silver linings suck. Winning is better. The sad-sack Jays need to find some good fortune during a four-game set in Anaheim. The good news is that the Angels are very bad. But then, so were the Tampa Bay Rays. If you’ve grabbed one of those spacious bandwagon seats, buckle up. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Thursday, Sept. 15, 10:05 p.m.
Daniel Wright (RHP) vs. J.A. Happ (LHP)
Friday Sept. 16, 10:05 p.m.
Jered Weaver (RHP) vs. R.A. Dickey (RHP)
Saturday Sept. 17, 9:05 p.m.
Ricky Nolasco (RHP) vs. Francisco Liriano (LHP)
Sunday Sept. 18, 3:35 p.m.
Alex Meyer (RHP) vs. Marcus Stroman (RHP)
Hip, tragically
The reigning American League MVP has missed the last three games with a hip injury, and no one seems to know how serious the damage is. Josh Donaldson is listed as day-to-day and went for an MRI on Wednesday. No news is bad news. As long as Donaldson sits, the Jays are without their most irreplaceable player. He has no trouble moving forward, but he’s having a hard time moving side-to-side and rotating. Those are both important things. But without him in the lineup, the Jays will continue to have trouble winning — and the fans will have trouble watching this nautical disaster.
The real MVP
Speaking of MVPs, let’s just get this out of the way: Mike Trout is the best player in baseball. It’s a fact. But it’s also unlikely that he’ll win the MVP award because his team is very bad. One fun fact that’s been tossed around a bit lately: Only seven players on teams with sub .500 records have won the MVP award in major league history. (The last one was Alex Rodriquez in 2003.) Expect Trout to continue to demonstrate his MVP-worthy abilities—in the field and at the plate against the Jays. So should Toronto continue to falter in L.A., at least you’ll get to watch some magic from Mike.
Entertaining Angels
Regardless of the standings, these Angels are dangerous. The Jays lost their last series against L.A., at home in late August, winning the opener and then dropping the next two. J.A. Happ was the losing pitcher in the final game of that series, and he’ll start on the mound for the Jays this time around. Happ was rocking a shutout until the Angels blew him apart in the sixth inning, when he gave up four runs. The Angels rally was spearheaded by Trout and fellow future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, who Happ later acknowledged as “two of the best hitters in the game.”
The Jays head to Seattle next, a team they dropped a home series to in July. While Safeco field is sure to be packed with left coast Jays fans, the Mariners have won eight straight games and are 10-2 so far in September. This western adventure will decide Toronto’s season.
Pitching in
The Jays’ Cy Young aspirations have taken a bit of a hit of late, but that’s nothing to panic about. Toronto still owns the second lowest ERA in the American League, behind the Cleveland Indians. J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez are still in the top 10 with their individual ERAs. Toronto is playing it cautious with Sanchez, but Happ will be looking to avenge that sixth-inning collapse against the Angels. He was great on the mound in the Jays’ one win over Boston last weekend.
On Friday, R.A. Dickey is set to have his first start in 10 days. That likely means Josh Thole will be behind the plate. But no one else is hitting well anyway, so whatever. Francisco Liriano and Marcus Stroman will close out the series on Saturday and Sunday. Liriano was fantastic in his last start against the Rays, giving up three hits in six innings. Marcus Stroman has been better of late. He pitched well in his last start against the Rays, aside from giving up a three-run homer in the fifth.
Hitting rock bottom
John Gibbons said his team has hit rock bottom, but really they haven’t hit anything. Toronto’s lack of offence has been a big factor in the team’s slide. They were outscored 26-14 against the Red Sox, and 16-6 against the Rays. Devon Travis has been the team’s best hitter, which is promising. But in the last week key sluggers like Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion performed below their OPS averages. Michael Saunders and Russell Martin struggled too. Meanwhile, there’s the enigma of Josh Donaldson, who was in an 0-23 slump before being sidelined with his hip injury. The Jays will need to relocate their bats in California if they’re going to stay in the playoff race.
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