Series preview: Blue Jays hope Encarnacion’s tear continues vs. Phillies

Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion. (Julie Jacobson/AP)

The Toronto Blue Jays are riding a three-game winning streak and won their sixth of the last seven series after taking three of four against the American League East-leading Baltimore Orioles.

Toronto now enters a four-game, home-and-home interleague series against the Philadelphia Phillies, with the first two games going at Rogers Centre before a visit to Citizens Bank Park.

Three wins against Baltimore cuts Toronto’s deficit in the East to 2.5 games, behind the Orioles and Red Sox, who are tied for top spot.

The Phillies, who are in rebuilding mode, are fourth in the NL East, with a .460 winning percentage compared to Toronto’s .538—it’s the first time the Jays have been five games over .500 this season.

Projected starters

Monday, June 13 – 7:07 p.m.
R.A. Dickey vs. Jerad Eickhoff

Tuesday, June 14 – 12:37 p.m.
Marcus Stroman vs. Zach Eflin

Wednesday, June 15 – 7:05 p.m.
Marco Estrada vs. Jeremy Hellickson

Thursday, June 16 – 7:05 p.m.
J.A. Happ vs. Aaron Nola

Electric Edwin

Edwin Encarnacion is rolling. He hit three home runs in the series against Baltimore, and now leads the Jays in that category, with 15.

Encarnacion scored six times in the last four days, had two doubles and eight RBI. He even stole his first base of the season. He has 38 RBI in his last 36 games.

You probably heard that Orioles pitcher Mike Wright took a jab at Encarnacion over the weekend, after Edwin went three-for-three with two homers and five RBI. In case you missed it, Wright said: “He’s really good. He’s also got holes. There’s a reason he’s batting .240. I think we give him too much credit.”

Okay.

Stroman takes on a rookie

In the Tuesday-afternoon tilt, Stroman will face off against fellow right-hander Zach Eflin, who’s making his MLB debut. Eflin is a top-ranked prospect in the Phillies’ system who’s in the lineup in place of injured starter Vince Velasquez.

Stroman will be looking to bounce back: In his last three starts, he has allowed 17 runs and sports a 9.37 ERA. His last time on the mound, the 25-year-old gave up four runs in 5.1 innings in a 6–5 loss against Baltimore.

Blistering bats

The Jays put up quite the offensive showing over the weekend. On Sunday, right-hander Aaron Sanchez gave up four home runs and still earned the W, the first pitcher in Blue Jays history to manage that.

Russell Martin had two hits, including a three-run shot. Kevin Pillar also took one out of the park. Every player in the lineup aside from Darwin Barney—who did get on base with a walk—managed a hit on Sunday in a 10–9 win, including Josh Donaldson (double), who reached for the 17th straight game.

That marked Toronto’s second straight 10-or-more-runs victory, following an 11–6 drubbing on Saturday.

The bats are alive.

Bautista’s (probably) back

Jose Bautista has been out of the lineup the last three games with a tight hip flexor, but the Blue Jays expect the 35-year-old right fielder to be back in the lineup on Monday.

Bautista is third on the Jays with 12 home runs and leads the American League with 47 walks.

Questions surround Tulo

Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, on the other hand, is still on the shelf. Manager John Gibbons didn’t provide an update on Sunday as to when he’ll make his return.

Added to the 15-day disabled list in late May with a right leg injury, Tulowitzki is now eligible to return to the lineup. He got into an extended spring training game on Friday and was pulled early. Gibbons said he didn’t re-injure the leg, only that Tulowitzki was “a little hesitant or something.”

Happ, the lone southpaw

J.A. Happ is the only lefty starting in this series. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares: Two outings ago, Happ gave up six earned runs over five innings in an 11–0 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Tigers.

In his last start he surrendered four earned runs on eight hits and struck out five over seven innings. He leads Blue Jays starters with seven wins.

Happ is up against Nola, who had his worst performance of the season on Saturday. Nola lasted just 3.2 innings and allowed four earned runs.

It’ll also be interesting to see how the Jays’ bats do against Nola, who has struck out 26.5 percent of the batters he’s faced so far this season.


WestJet
Fly with WestJet to cheer on your Toronto Blue Jays™. Check out the schedule and book your flight here.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.