The Blue Jays took two of three against the Rays over the weekend, wining their first series since late June and clawing back to .500. It was the first time the Blue Jays have won back-to-back series against Tampa Bay since 2007.
Here are some takeaways from the series…
The peculiar anomaly that is Drew Hutchison’s home and away splits continued to play out Friday night, as the 24-year-old threw six innings of solid two-run ball at Rogers Centre to drop his home ERA to 2.21 in 9 starts vs. 8.81 in 10 starts on the road. The splits are likely nothing more than an aberration that will slowly correct itself over the course of the season; remember, last year Hutchison was the complete opposite, pitching well on the road and struggling in his own ballpark.
But something that could have more of a positive effect on Hutchison is using his change-up more often. The right-hander got away from the pitch in the first half—particularly against right-handers—which caused pitching coach Pete Walker to urge his young starter to feature it more often. In his first start of the second half, Hutchison did just that, throwing it 18 times, just as often as his slider. After the game, he said he felt the pitch was really working for him, and that the more he throws it, the better it is. His manager was encouraged by what he saw as well.
“There’s a lot in that kid. I still believe a big part of it is he’s a young guy. We kind of look at him as a veteran around him,” John Gibbons said. “A year or two, maybe three years from now, he’s going to be a much more consistent pitcher. He’s like anybody else. They battle their confidence at times. They may tell you otherwise, but it’s natural. Veterans do that too.
“We’ve seen him good way too many times the past couple years,” Gibbons continued. “I think he’s going to bounce back and have a good second half for us like he did last year.”
It seems the All-Star break couldn’t have come at a better time for the Blue Jays, who got a much-needed four-day rest while baseball celebrated its best in Cincinnati. The Blue Jays endured a gruelling three-city, ten-game road trip to end their unofficial first half, battling through a flu bug that went around the team as they dropped seven of ten and treaded water in the American League East. “We really went from two different types of environments—from Chicago, where it was 60 and rainy, to Kansas City, where it was 110 and humid,” Josh Donaldson said. “I definitely think that the couple of days off served us well and hopefully this will get us trending in the right direction.”
The Blue Jays could have swept the series with the Rays if not for a disappointing showing from the bullpen Saturday afternoon. After R.A. Dickey left in the seventh with just one run on the board, Aaron Loup took over and allowed a solo shot to tie the game. Ryan Tepera relieved Loup and allowed a solo shot of his own as the Rays snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. The Blue Jays bullpen has been about a league-average bunch over the course of the season, with a 3.60 ERA that sits 15th in baseball. But the group’s win probability added is -3.59, second worst in the MLB. That suggests the bullpen has done much more to hurt the Blue Jays win expectancy than to help it.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons took a step towards solidifying his relief corps Sunday afternoon, announcing that when Aaron Sanchez returns to the club from his rehab assignment sometime next week, he’ll do so as a reliever. “We want to strengthen that area,” Gibbons said. “We get into positions, these close games where we get a good start—we’ve got to be able to win those games. And [Sanchez] brings some pretty good firepower.”
The Blue Jays started the second half on a positive from a starting pitching standpoint, as Hutchison, Dickey and Marco Estrada each took a turn dominating the Rays. Tampa Bay scored just five runs in the series, and only three off of Toronto starters. “They gave us everything we needed,” Gibbons said.
Estrada has quietly been one of the Blue Jays’ most reliable starters, posting a 3.52 ERA in 14 starts since joining the rotation in early May. He’s given his team at least six innings in eight of his last 11 starts and made six in a row where he allowed just two earned runs or less. Dickey, meanwhile, is on a very nice run himself. In nine outings since the beginning of June he’s throw seven quality starts, pitching to a 3.49 ERA.
