After dropping the first two games against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to salvage the last game of the series and avoid a sweep. Toronto avoided being swept for the first time since May 16-18 against these same Rays. After falling back into a tie with Boston on Saturday, the win on Sunday has Toronto at 77-59 on the season, up a game on the Red Sox and three games on the Orioles heading into a September series versus the New York Yankees.
Here are five takeaways from the Rays series:
Bullpen to the Rescue
The one game this series that Toronto won was the one in which it got the worst performance from its starting pitcher. The normally reliable J.A. Happ gave up three runs and six hits in less than three full innings of work. The Blue Jays bullpen of Danny Barnes, Scott Feldman, Joaquin Benoit, Jason Grilli and Roberto Osuna held strong with 6.1 scoreless innings. Joaquin Benoit earned the 1,000th strikeout of his career against Evan Longoria in the seventh inning Sunday, which extended the reliever’s scoreless streak to 16 innings. How good has he been? That streak is the fourth longest in the majors this season. The game was finished off with Robert Osuna going three up, three down with two strikeouts on only 15 pitches to pick up his 30th save of the season. The 21-year-old Osuna is the youngest pitcher in baseball history to collect 50 career saves.
Stro Struggles
Marcus Stroman looked like he had re-found his elite form from last year with a strong month of August, but he has struggled of late. In his last two starts, Stroman has allowed six earned runs over 12 innings pitched with a 1.42 WHIP and .280 opponents batting average. Stroman will have the opportunity to change his fortunes in September when he starts the final game of the upcoming series in his home state of New York.
Juggled Rotation
With Stroman, Francisco Liriano and R.A. Dickey the three scheduled starters to pitch in Tampa, the Blue Jays opted to juggle their rotation. Instead they sent Stroman, Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ to the mound against the Rays, allowing them to throw Aaron Sanchez, Dickey and Stroman against New York. Rather than sticking with the much-debated six-man rotation, the team moved Liriano to the bullpen. Manager John Gibbons said Liriano will still make starts down the stretch, but this move allows the team to see him pitch out of the bullpen, which is a likely scenario should Toronto make the post-season.
Martin Mashes
Russell Martin is swinging such a hot bat he’s got the green light on 3-0 counts. Luckily he put it to good use when he hit the go-ahead home run in the eighth inning with Dalton Pompey on second after pinch running for Dioner Navarro. Martin now has 10 home runs since Aug. 1 after hitting only seven in the first four months of the season. Is there another Blue Jay you’d rather have at the plate in a meaningful spot? Martin, who has driven in 24 runs in his last 18 games, has a slash line of .302/.398/.542 with runners in scoring position and has been just as valuable at the plate as he is calling the game behind the plate.
Starting from the bottom
Devon Travis will return to the leadoff spot on Monday after hitting ninth against the Rays — the second straight series he spent in that spot. Although it was an unusual decision, Travis fared well hitting out of the nine-hole against Tampa Bay, going 4-for-12 with two runs scored and four RBI. In 41 plate appearances as the ninth batter this season, Travis is hitting .316 with an .813 OPS compared to .311/.806 in 103 plate appearances as the lead-off guy.
