The Toronto Blue Jays are inching closer to the top spot in the AL East.
Entering play Friday, the Blue Jays are 1.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East and 1.0 game behind the Baltimore Orioles for the top wild card spot.
Now on a three-game win streak, the Blue Jays have the chance to gain ground in the race as they open a nine-game homestand against the Seattle Mariners.
Here’s what to watch for…
Friday, July 22 — 7:07 p.m.
James Paxton vs. Marco Estrada
Saturday, July 23 — 1:07 p.m.
Hisashi Iwakuma vs. R.A. Dickey
Sunday, July 24 — 1:07 p.m.
TBD vs. J.A. Happ
How will Estrada hold up?
Estrada’s Friday start will be closely monitored, as the Blue Jays’ All-Star will be making his first appearance since going on the disabled list with back soreness. The 33-year-old, who threw a successful bullpen on Tuesday, last pitched on July 2 against Cleveland where he threw five innings but experienced plenty of back pain, which led to his decision to sit out the All-Star Game.
“(The back) has kind of hit a plateau, it’s not getting better, it’s not getting worse, but it’s good enough right now,” Estrada told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi last week. “I’m sure by the time I have to pitch it will feel much better.”
Estrada received a cortisone shot and should be good to go for the second half. He had an impressive 2.93 ERA with 99 strikeouts over his first 104.1 innings.
Welcome back Lindy
A familiar face will return to Toronto this weekend as former Blue Jay Adam Lind makes his first visit to the Rogers Centre as an opponent since being traded prior to the 2015 season. Lind spent nine seasons with the Blue Jays, racking up 146 home runs with a .794 OPS over 3,726 plate appearances.
The 33-year-old left-handed hitter had a solid season in 2015 with the Milwaukee Brewers (where he was initially traded by Toronto in exchange for Estrada) before he was dealt to Seattle this past off-season. He has held up in his first season with the Mariners, hitting .231/.264/.449 with 15 home runs and 43 RBI in 76 games.
Saunders faces old friends
It will be a reunion weekend for more than just Lind as Michael Saunders, who was drafted by Seattle in 2004, will be facing his former team for the first time in his career. Prior to joining Toronto in a trade for Happ, who now happens to be his teammate, Saunders had spent his entire career with the Mariners’ organization (553 MLB games in total) but his stock fell off towards the end of his tenure with the club partly due to durability issues. The first-time All-Star will surely want to put on a show against his old teammates.
Plenty of power
The Blue Jays are well-known as a long ball threat but it may catch some by surprise that the Mariners also rank in the top three in homers league-wide. Only the Baltimore Orioles (142 home runs) have hit more homers than the Mariners, while the Blue Jays trail Seattle by just one homer. Seattle has 45 combined home runs from perennial slugger Nelson Cruz and second baseman Robinson Cano while Kyle Seager and Lind have each reached the 15 home run mark this year.
Toronto has fared well in that department as of late, as Edwin Encarnacion mashed some monster home runs in Arizona and now ranks in the top five in the American League along with Josh Donaldson.
Walk-off warriors
The Mariners, at one game over .500 entering the series, have had their ups and downs this year. Their plus-38 run run differential indicates the club is better than their record, but they’ve also had a unique ability to win in dramatic fashion this year. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Leonys Martin‘s game-winning home run on Wednesday was the sixth walk-off home run by a Seattle hitter this season, which tied an MLB record for the most before Aug. 1.
Given that they are the road team in this series, there won’t be any walkoff wins for Seattle in Toronto, but keep an eye out for their ability to go deep in late innings.
Sign up for a WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard to see a game anywhere the Jays play with the $250 Welcome Bonus
