The Blue Jays took two of three from the Colorado Rockies in Denver this week, the club’s first series win since June 15–16 in Philadelphia. It was also the first time in franchise history that the Blue Jays have won a series at Coors Field. Here’s a few things that happened.
Coors Field lives up to the hype
The Blue Jays and Rockies combined for 68 hits and 45 runs over these three games in a series that truly embodied what it’s like to play at Coors Field. No lead ever felt safe, and perhaps Blue Jays manager, John Gibbons, put it best when he said after Tuesday night’s madcap affair, “I don’t know how you play 81 games here, if you want to know the truth.”
Of course, that second game was completely absurd even by Denver standards. It started with a two-hour, 41-minute delay as a colossal storm surged over the ballpark, dumping sheets of rain and hail all over the field and flooding a part of the Rockies clubhouse. And what followed was a nearly four-hour circus act that saw both teams taking turns booting the ball all over the field and scoring in bunches. The final result, at 1:12 a.m. local time, was a 14–9 Blue Jays victory with six of the runs going unearned.
Sanchez continues to shine
That Coors Field effect makes Aaron Sanchez’s start Wednesday afternoon even more impressive. The soon-to-be 24-year-old threw eight innings of one-run ball, striking out three in his latest dominant outing. His lone run allowed came on a Daniel Descalso RBI single that Sanchez nearly snagged for the third out of the inning. Otherwise Sanchez cruised, working down in the zone to get 12 groundballs (vs. just two fly balls) which mitigated the effects of Denver’s high altitude.
Gibbons had a decision to make in the seventh when Sanchez issued his only two walks of the game and loaded the bases with one out. But he stood pat and watched as Sanchez got Ryan Raburn to roll over a 94-mph two-seamer and start an inning-ending double play.
Gibbons showed even more confidence in his young right-hander when he let Sanchez take an at-bat in the next inning with two runners on and none out before letting him pitch the eighth. Sanchez cruised through his final inning, earning two groundballs and a pop-out behind home plate. It was the eighth time this season that Sanchez has pitched at least seven innings and the 11th time in 16 starts he’s allowed two runs or less.
That’s really, really good. Sanchez’s ERA on the season is now 3.16 and as he continues to pile up excellent start after excellent start it’s only going to become more and more difficult for the Blue Jays to move him to the bullpen. That’s been the club’s plan since spring training. But at some point, Sanchez’s results have to start changing some minds in the Blue Jays front office.
Devon Travis is red hot
With six hits in the series, including a home run and a double, second baseman Devon Travis continues to surge. The 25-year-old struggled to find his feet in the weeks following his rushed return from the disabled list to replace an injured Troy Tulowitzki. But Travis has gone 25-for-61 in his last 15 games to raise his 2016 slash line to .284/.317/.483.
The most promising part of Travis’s strong play has been his plate approach, which has seen him shooting balls to the opposite field. The majority of Travis’s extra-base hits in 2015 came on pitches he drove to right-centre, a tendency that has returned during his recent hot stretch.
Good signs for Tulowitzki
Troy Tulowitzki may have have had mixed feelings about his return to Denver this week, but the 31-year-old shortstop has to feel good about how the three days went. It began with a long, emotional ovation from Rockies faithful at Coors Field, who were more than happy to demonstrate their appreciation for the 10 years that Tulowitzki spent in a Colorado uniform.
And after that, Tulowitzki made a couple of strong contributions to his new team’s efforts. After going 0-for-4 in the series opener, Tulowitzki hit a homer in the second game and an RBI single in the third, giving him 10 hits in 10 games since returning from the disabled list on June 18.
While the MVP-calibre Tulowitzki who patrolled short for the Rockies appears to be gone, the current version is still an above-average offensive shortstop and could reach a 25-home-run season with a strong second half. With six extra-base hits in his last 10 games, Tulowitzki is producing much more consistently than he was earlier this season, which can only be a good sign for the Blue Jays.
Bullpen struggles continue
The Blue Jays could have won all three games in this series if not for another bullpen meltdown in the opener. Handed a one-run lead in the bottom of the seventh, Drew Storen and Jesse Chavez proceeded to allow six runs to score in the inning as the Rockies batted around and earned a lead they wouldn’t surrender.
After a string of eight scoreless outings in which he allowed just five hits, Storen has now allowed five runs in his last 1.1 innings. Similarly, Chavez has allowed six runs in his last 3.2 innings after settling in as one of the Blue Jays’ most reliable relief options in late May and early June.
Even Roberto Osuna, who has been Gibbons’s most trusted bullpen option this season, nearly blew a lead in Wednesday’s finale, allowing two runs in the ninth and putting the tying run on second with less than two outs before edging out of the bind.
Reinforcements could arrive in Toronto as soon as Thursday as the rehabbing Brett Cecil and Franklin Morales both threw scoreless innings for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Tuesday. With the way the Blue Jays bullpen has been going, those two could find their way into some high leverage situations very quickly.
