The Toronto Blue Jays returned from a 1–2 series loss to the Baltimore Orioles and dropped the opener on Friday night against the Oakland Athletics. But they rebounded to take the next two and secured a series win over A’s, making Toronto the victor in the last seven of nine games against Oakland.
With Baltimore’s 1–2 series loss to Kansas City over the weekend, Toronto pulls within just 2.5 games of first place in the AL East.
Positive test, negative news
Friday marked a loss for the Blue Jays not only in the standings but also on the roster when it was announced that Chris Colabello had previously tested positive for a banned substance, the steroid dehydrochlormethyltestosterone. The 32-year-old was suspended 80 games and is not eligible to take part in the post-season should the Blue Jays make it that far.
The biggest beneficiary is Justin Smoak, who moves from a timeshare to being the everyday first baseman. Corner infielder Matt Dominguez is the leading candidate to be called up with Jesus Montero, though adding an extra bullpen arm is also an option.
April showers
Josh Donaldson’s return home and to form underscores how well he plays at Rogers Centre. The dome is considered a hitters’ park and Donaldson’s home and road splits this year show just how comfortable he is playing in Toronto. The bringer of rain extended his hit streak at home to nine games during the series with Oakland.
2016 Splits | Home | Road |
---|---|---|
Average | .389 | .233 |
Home runs | 4 | 3 |
RBI | 12 | 7 |
Runs | 12 | 8 |
OPS | 1.283 | .875 |
Not just this year, Donaldson has made a career of making it rain inside the domed stadium.
Career Statistics at Rogers Centre | |
---|---|
Average | .325 |
Home runs | 30 |
RBI | 85 |
Slugging % | .648 |
OPS | 1.046 |
And speaking of J.D….
Josh Donaldson bobblehead day meant fans were lining up as early as 9 a.m. around the ballpark Sunday morning. Donaldson also received his 2015 Silver Slugger Award during a pre-game ceremony.
It was no coincidence the ceremony took place against his former team. The A’s were on the wrong side of one of the worst trades in recent memory as Donaldson was moved after spending four seasons with the A’s with an all-star appearance. The 2014 trade for former fan favourite Brett Lawrie—now with the Chicago White Sox—is the best move of the Alex Anthopoulos era.
Now with the White Sox, Lawrie wasn’t there to see it as MVP chants rained down for Donaldson and a life-size bobblehead was paraded around the park. The mashing third baseman has become a larger-than-life figure in a short time in Toronto—you now see just as many Donaldson as Bautista jerseys in the crowd, even though the former has only been in town for just over a year.
Donaldson’s 100th game at Rogers Centre was a family affair. Donaldson’s mother, Lisa French, made the trip up from Alabama to throw out the first pitch to her son. Donaldson enjoyed the gesture. “Seeing how happy she was, it was a neat moment,” he said.
Drew provides depth
Drew Hutchison gave Toronto one of its best starts of the season, giving up just four hits and two earned runs on Sunday. Hutchison showed a good fastball and slider and worked both sides of the plate. The best sign was that his command was back as he walked just three batters and struck out five on 95 pitches. Hutchison earned a standing ovation as he left the ball game. The spot start from triple-A Buffalo allowed the rest of the Blue Jays pitchers a breather as Toronto enters one of the most unrelenting stretches of the season. The Jays have an off-day this Thursday and then games for 13 straight days.
Slump buster
The most encouraging sign of the series was the fact that the bats came to life against an above-average pitching staff in Oakland.
Darwin Barney continued swinging a hot bat with a home run in the loss on Friday, and Troy Tulowitzki got on track Saturday, becoming the first Blue Jays shortstop to record a multi–home run game since Alex Gonzalez in 2010. On Sunday Jose Bautista snapped his three-game hitless streak with a two-run home run in the fourth inning.
Kevin Pillar also continues to mash since being removed from the leadoff spot. Pillar had six hits in the series.
But no Blue Jays player was better at the plate against the A’s than Ezequiel Carrera. The Blue Jays’ fourth outfielder was filling in in left field and at the leadoff spot for Michael Saunders, who is nursing a hamstring injury. Carrera had a career-high four-hit game when he went four-for-five on Saturday. He followed that up with his first home run of the season on Sunday. Carrera also had two stolen bases in the series.
Next up: Marcus Stroman pitches Monday as the Blue Jays host the White Sox and Miguel Gonzalez makes his debut for Chicago.