The Toronto Blue Jays’ offence got rolling after a slow start to the weekend as the club took two of three from the Houston Astros.
The Blue Jays (67-51) maintained their half-game lead atop the AL East and kept pace with the Baltimore Orioles, who rallied back to win their weekend series over the San Francisco Giants.
Here are five takeaways from the series victory over Houston:
Martin has his best series of the season
With all the elite talent on the Blue Jays’ roster, it’s fair to wonder if the contributions of Russell Martin can sometimes get overlooked. However, the Blue Jays catcher was at his best over the weekend, providing big hits at the plate, high-quality defence and a highlight-reel catch in Sunday’s victory. Martin turned around Saturday’s game with a huge three-run home run and continued his power surge Sunday with a solo jack following a big homer from Troy Tulowitzki. The addition of Martin has been so critical to stabilizing this Blue Jays team and he showed just how much with his best series of the 2016 season.
Blue Jays hold up well vs. Altuve
Astros star second baseman Jose Altuve had been on a tear entering the series with Toronto, but the MVP candidate finished the weekend with just three hits over three games and did not drive in a run over the final two games of the series after a two-RBI performance on Friday night. Marcus Stroman was especially effective with Altuve, keeping his pitches inside. Altuve went hitless in Sunday’s loss and did not get on base in his four plate appearances.
Grilli’s energy is electric
It’s a small thing but it’s hard not to be impressed with Jason Grilli since he joined the Blue Jays. Not only has he done a quality job improving the back end of the bullpen, but his passion on the mound is awesome to watch. It’s fun to see how fired up he gets after getting out of a big spot and it adds so much energy to the fans and the team. Grilli seems like one of the most sincere athletes to play for the club in a while.
Blue Jays in need of OF help
The injuries to Kevin Pillar and Jose Bautista have created a glaring hole on the Blue Jays roster as the club has a lack of quality depth in the outfield. Melvin Upton Jr., can hold his own defensively and produced some offence on Sunday but the club could badly use the return of Ezequiel Carrera at this stage. He is expected to rejoin the club early this week, which will take some playing time away from Darrell Ceciliani, who is better served in a bench role for a team in a tight race. Ceciliani had a key hit Sunday but struggled at the plate for the most part. Carrera’s return will likely cause the team to send down Junior Lake in a corresponding move.
Cecil coming on strong
When the Blue Jays move back into division games, they’re going to need big contributions from Brett Cecil, their primary lefty out of the bullpen. Cecil has certainly had a down season for the most part but the veteran reliever is rounding into form at the right time. He has allowed just one earned run over his last six appearances and his combination of pitches looks far more controlled and effective than they were earlier this year. Having Cecil as a reliable late inning option will be crucial down the stretch.