BOSTON — Mark Buehrle rejoined the Blue Jays in Boston Wednesday afternoon following a 24-hour visit to Toronto to receive a cortisone injection in his sore left shoulder. It wasn’t his first cortisone shot of the season, but it is the first to become public knowledge, which drummed up a considerable amount of interest in a treatment the veteran left-hander describes as routine.
“You take your car in to get the oil changed, get the bearings lubed up — same thing,” Buehrle said on Tuesday before the conclusion of the Blue Jays’ series with the Red Sox at Fenway Park. “Just trying to get strong for the final couple weeks, and hopefully the playoffs.”
Buehrle has pitched through more discomfort than usual in his throwing arm this season, a situation the Blue Jays have tried to mitigate with a mixture of treatment and added days of rest between outings. He was bumped back two extra days before making his most recent start on Monday in Boston, and following the cortisone shot he’ll be given an entire week off before his next outing on September 15 in Atlanta.
“It’s frustrating. I feel like I’ve always been the guy that’s been counted on to go out there every five days. And now I’m getting to the point where I’m getting skipped for some other guys. So, it’s a kick in the stomach a little bit, just realizing that. Age and innings are maybe starting to catch up,” Buehrle said.
“But we’ve got five, six guys who are capable of starting. And I told Gibby last night, whenever he gives me the ball I’m going to take it and go out there and give everything I’ve got. And hopefully it’s good enough.”
Buehrle has thus far put together a seesaw 2015. He got off to a slow start, with a 4.97 ERA in the season’s first two months, but was extremely successful from the beginning of June well into August, stringing together a run of 13 outings in which he pitched to a 2.16 ERA.
He’s struggled since, giving up four runs in four innings against the Phillies on August 19, and five runs in six innings against the Rangers five days later. He bounced back with a fine outing against the Tigers at the end of August, but struggled against the Red Sox on Monday, lasting just 3.1 innings while giving up five runs.
Buehrle’s fastball velocity, which sat in the 84-85 mph range through the first four months of the season, took a significant dive in August, averaging 82.8 mph and dropping as low as 80 mph in some starts. The crafty 36-year-old has never been a pitcher who relied on power to get batters out, but the dip in speed was concerning and Buehrle publicly mused about possibly going through a dead arm period.
“I don’t even know what dead arm really is, but when it’s not coming out as good, you just kind of point to that,” Buehrle said. “Obviously there’s aches and pains that were there; hopefully this shot will take care of it and we’ll be good to go the rest of the year.”
Buehrle’s had plenty of cortisone injections throughout his career, with varying results. “They’re hit and miss,” he said. “At times, I feel great. And at times, it might not do much.” He refused to elaborate on how many he’s received this season — “no need to go into details” — but he did share that the club had planned for a while on getting him an injection at some point this month.
Buehrle says he could have taken his regular turn in the Blue Jays rotation this Saturday in New York if needed and told Toronto manager John Gibbons as much in a meeting on Tuesday, but the return of Marcus Stroman allowed the club to back Buehrle off and give his shoulder more thorough treatment.
There is also the issue of Buehrle’s career record against the Yankees, which features a gnarly 6.03 ERA in 22 starts. Buehrle has experienced especially poor results at the new Yankee Stadium, where he has a 6.22 ERA with 13 home runs allowed in nine outings. To his credit, in Buehrle’s one meeting with the Yankees this year, he threw five innings of one-run ball and got the win in a 4-2 Blue Jays victory at Rogers Centre.
“I’d like to start on my five days. Whenever my day comes up, I’m available to start. Obviously, everybody knows my record and how I’ve faired against [the Yankees,]” Buehrle said. “But I told Gibby, I said, ‘hey, all’s I remember, the last time I faced them I beat them. I got a win.’”
That said, Buehrle was firm in asserting that he was fine with the Blue Jays giving him more rest, and that his relationship with Stroman is as strong as ever.
“We’re good friends — he calls me pops. … As soon as I came in today he came over and gave me a hug and said welcome back,” Buehrle said. “[Stroman’s return] just shows all the rehab and hard work that he did. He said in spring training he was going to try come back in September. It’s a credit to him and the people that got him back on the field and got him ready to start throwing.”
For Buehrle the recent added rest to his schedule may put his 14-season streak of pitching more than 200 innings in jeopardy. He’s currently at 174.1 innings for 2015, and if he continues to pitch on normal rest past his Tuesday start in Atlanta he would only receive four more starts this season. Buehrle would have to average a little more than 6.2 innings in each of those starts to reach 200.
However, Buehrle receiving four more starts may be an unlikely scenario considering Stroman’s return and the Blue Jays’ inclination to give the veteran more rest. If he only receives three more outings, he’ll have to average 8.2 innings per start, a near impossible feat. Buehrle is aware of the steep climb he faces, but still hopes to reach the summit.
“I’m still shooting for 200. I don’t know how many starts I have left but it didn’t help out the other day here, only going three innings,” Buehrle said of his Monday outing at Fenway Park. “But it’s still a goal of mine and I hope to get there.”
