After a series split with the L.A. Angels, the Toronto Blue Jays remain in playoff purgatory—hoping they still have a shot at reclaiming top spot in the division while clinging to the second wild spot in the American League. It looked as though Toronto had broken out of its slump with two convincing wins to open their West Coast trip. But then the Jays went cold. They were outscored 10–1 in back-to-back losses while the Red Sox picked up another couple of wins to bolster their claim to the division title. With just 13 games remaining in the season, it looks like a three-game series against the surging Seattle Mariners will have a huge impact on the Blue Jays’ fate.
Here are our series takeaways.
Offensive woes continue
The biggest problem for the Jays continues to be an inability to generate runs. Unfortunately, there’s no collective solution for that. Hitting is a dark art. Sometimes typically great bats go cold. Sometimes an entire team does. After scoring a dozen runs in their first two games against the Angels, the Blue Jays crossed the plate once in their next two. Toronto was 1 for 17 with runners in scoring position in those last two games.
Defence falters
One thing that doesn’t help a team win games when they can’t score is playing poor defence. The Jays seemed unfocused at times in the field, and it cost them. They had three errors on Saturday alone. Those, and a wild pitch, helped the Angels chalk up an extra five runs, effectively handing the win to Los Angeles.
Pitching remains a plus
All things considered, pitching wasn’t a problem this weekend. The initial duo of J.A. Happ and R.A. Dickey were very good in the series opening wins. Francisco Liriano pitched well in Saturday’s loss. And on Sunday, Marcus Stroman was solid through six innings. The only problem for the Jays upfront pitching is the herniated disc in Marco Estrada’s back. And well see how that’s working in his incredibly important start against the Mariners tonight. The main point, though, is that the starters have done their job all season and remain the only reliable part of this team.
West Coast trouble
Toronto really, really needed to sweep the lowly Angels. But Mike Trout is the real MVP, Albert Pujols is heading to Hall of Fame, and baseball still employs archaic rules about having to cross the plate to win the game. Sigh. The Jays head north to Seattle, where the house will be packed with blue-and-white-dressed fans. But the Mariners are hunting for the wild-card spot that the Jays are dangerously close to falling out of. Toronto is currently two games up on Seattle and the Detroit Tigers for the dubious honour of having a one-game chance at the playoffs. Every series is obviously important now—but holy geez, this one matters. The Red Sox are up four games for the division lead, so that’s looking more and more like a dream than a possibility. But it’s baseball, and baseball is funny. Happy September, everyone.
