NEW YORK — The series for the Toronto Blue Jays will only grow in consequence from here on out, and of course when they’re pitted against the New York Yankees, their sole competition for the AL East crown, the significance only spikes further.
That in turn creates energy, excitement, anticipation, hype — all of which got put on ice Thursday in the Bronx when relentless rain pushed back the start of a potentially pivotal four-game set between the rivals.
David Price gets the ball again for the Blue Jays on Friday, while Marco Estrada starts the early contest and Marcus Stroman the nightcap on Saturday, when the postponement is made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader.
All the eagerness for things to get going is on pause.
“I’m feeling great because this series is going to be the biggest series I’ve ever had,” said Edwin Encarncion. “I’ve never been in this spot before and I can’t wait to start playing the games.”
Price, who did some light throwing in the outfield before the festivities were shut down, shrugged off the inconvenience of the postponement and any impact to his routine, responding to a question about his preparation by saying simply, “I’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
The ace left-hander also went to length to try and keep the series between the Blue Jays (79-60) and the Yankees (77-61), who are 1.5 games back, in the proper perspective.
“Every game we play, every series we play from here on out is very important and you can’t put any more importance on any certain game or any certain series,” said Price. “We all know we need to win games — just keep playing the baseball we’ve been playing.”
Manager John Gibbons sees his team on an even keel right now, not building up this series or any other more than needed. A point he stressed is that the mindset he sees from his players right now isn’t much different from the one he first noticed in spring training, “other than a little more confidence.”
“That’s one thing that’s been different about this group, from Day 1 they’ve approached it a little bit differently,” said Gibbons. “Really a focused group, an intense group, maybe just a confidence thing, winning some games since we’ve made those [deadline] deals.”
Still, no one can deny this series against the Yankees, against whom the Blue Jays are 8-4 this year, has a different feel, and can have major implications.
A sweep either way can shake-up the standings and alter the course of the final three weeks, while a split serves to help run out the clock.
“To stand here and say this isn’t an important series, I’d be lying,” said Troy Tulowitzki. “At the same time I don’t think it’s do or die, there are 19 games left after this series, still.”
Nineteen games is both a lot and a little, and while one game isn’t the be-all, end-all, time is of the essence with the period of recovery whittling down every day. There’s an inherent urgency to that reality which comes with playing meaningful September games.
“It’s neat to see everybody come to the field for that one reason, to win a game, that’s how it should be, but that’s not how it always is,” said Tulowitzki. “Some guys have different things on their mind, but right now I can tell you everybody’s job coming here tomorrow is, ‘Hey, we’ve got one thing on our mind, and that’s to win a game.’ That’s a culture I hope to help bring here, all about winning, because you’ll realize that later in your career how unique it really is.”
Encarnacion doesn’t need any reminders.
He’s in his 11th big-league season, seventh with the Blue Jays, and all this is new to him.
“Sometimes there’s too much emotion, you’re too hyper, you want to try to do too much,” he said. “That’s the thing you’ve got to control and continue to do what we’ve been doing and keep enjoying the games. That’s the No. 1 thing.”
The fun is set to unpause Friday night, weather permitting.