David Price will soon face the Blue Jays in Toronto for the first time since signing with Boston, but there’s more at stake than storylines this weekend. After a slow start, the Blue Jays need to take advantage of a series against the first-place Red Sox and start making up ground in the AL East.
Friday, May 27 – 7:07 p.m. ET
Aaron Sanchez vs. Joe Kelly
Saturday, May 28 – 1:07 p.m. ET
Marcus Stroman vs. Rick Porcello
Sunday, May 29 – 1:07 p.m. ET
R.A. Dickey vs. David Price
Price improving
Don’t let Price’s 5.34 ERA deceive you. He leads the AL with 76 strikeouts and his 2.82 FIP better reflects how hard he is to hit.
Plus, he’s pitching better of late, with a 2.57 ERA in his last three outings. Not only has the left-hander averaged seven innings per start during that span, he has 23 strikeouts against just three walks.
Blue Jays pitching
Because of a rather unimpressive showing at the plate, the Blue Jays have needed all the pitching they can get this year. Their rotation has stepped up, combining for a 3.54 ERA that ranks seventh in baseball while recording more than their share of outs. Blue Jays starters lead MLB with 318 innings and they’re tied with the Nationals for the big league lead in quality starts, with 33. This weekend, Toronto’s rotation will get one of its biggest tests yet.
Red Sox scoring
The Red Sox are scoring the way the Blue Jays were supposed to score. Thanks to a deep lineup featuring six players with an OPS above .800, the Red Sox lead MLB with 276 runs scored. For context, the Braves have scored about half as many: 142.
Most impressive of all might be David Ortiz, who’s producing as though he’s in his prime. Ortiz, who plans to retire after this year, has been one of the best hitters in baseball over the last calendar year, leading MLB in doubles and slugging percentage in that span:
Name | HR | RBI | SB | 2B | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | WAR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mike Trout | 40 | 97 | 8 | 33 | 0.307 | 0.408 | 0.595 | 0.421 | 177 | 9.9 |
Bryce Harper | 37 | 89 | 11 | 36 | 0.306 | 0.448 | 0.594 | 0.433 | 177 | 8.6 |
David Ortiz | 43 | 135 | 1 | 51 | 0.308 | 0.393 | 0.649 | 0.428 | 172 | 5.4 |
In fact it’s easy to make the case that Ortiz has been baseball’s best hitter in 2016. He leads MLB with a wRC+ of 197 after hitting his 12th home run of the year Thursday.
Martin hitting
Through 39 games, Russell Martin had one extra-base hit—a double—to his name. Then, in his 40th game, he hit two home runs, apparently an indication that his power stroke has returned. The slow-starting Blue Jays will take all the offence they can get from a player who hit 23 homers last year.
Bullpen expanding?
The Blue Jays finished their series against the Yankees with a six-man bullpen, but they’re expected to add another reliever soon, likely Aaron Loup. The way Ortiz and Jackie Bradley Jr. are hitting it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have another lefty in the bullpen.
It stands to reason that the Blue Jays will part with an infielder to create roster space considering they have three bench infielders: Ryan Goins, Darwin Barney and Jimmy Paredes. Paredes has hit well and is out of options, so his chances of sticking seem good. That leaves Goins and Barney, both of whom have options. Given that Goins has a .442 OPS, he looks like the most logical candidate for a triple-A stint.