When a beloved TV series concludes with an unsatisfying finale, it’s important not to let that sour taste cast a shadow over its otherwise strong run. The same notion could be applied to the Toronto Blue Jays’ series with the Seattle Mariners.
Though the three-game set ended with a tough-to-swallow 2-1, 12-inning loss, the fact the Jays were in a position to sweep Wednesday night tells you the previous outings were full of positives. Overall, Toronto went 4-3 on a seven-game west coast swing that started in Anaheim. Considering the degree to which the club was scuffling at Rogers Centre prior to the trip, that record qualifies as good news.
Here are some takeaways from the contests in Seattle.
Strong arms
Three games, three great outings from Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez. Estrada got his change-up back on Monday night and looked like the guy who could barely be touched last September and October. That’s a huge departure from what he had been turning in recently, having posted a 7.53 earned run average in his previous six starts before beating the Mariners. Happ, meanwhile, won his 20th game of the year on Tuesday—let that one sink in for a bit—and, pitching for the first time after missing a start with a blister, Aaron Sanchez took a hard-luck loss in the finale. All told, the arms were somewhere between solid and spectacular.
A little of that old magic?
Nothing seemed out of reach for the Blue Jays last year, a sentiment that’s been understandably tough to recreate this season. But when Jose Bautista drilled a one-out homer in the top of the ninth to tie Wednesday’s game, it felt like the never-count-us-out Jays were back. Sure, they failed to fully convert and get the victory, but there was at least a flicker of that magic we saw so often down the stretch in 2015.
Fielding questions
For whatever reason, the gloves have not been as good as they need to be in the past few weeks. Josh Donaldson continued that trend on Wednesday when a wild throw to first resulted in Guillermo Heredia standing on second base to open the 12th. When the next batter bunted, Ryan Goins charged and made a perfect throw to third that had Heredia dead on arrival. Donaldson made the tag, the umpire signalled out, then the ball leaked out of the third baseman’s glove. One Robbie Cano fly ball later and the game was over. Mistakes like that have been too common for the Jays in the field and the situation needs correcting.
Bats: The good and the bad
Every single Blue Jays starter registered a hit in Tuesday’s 10–2 throttling. Playing in his old stomping grounds, Michael Saunders got off the schneid with a two-run bomb and Russell Martin continued his hot-hitting ways with a dinger of his own. Put that game aside, though, and the bats still aren’t in full swing. While the Jays ran into a dealing “King” Felix Hernandez on Wednesday, it’s still worth nothing that the club has only scored more than three runs three times in its past 10 outings.
Maybe some home crunch-time cooking will change that.
