Thanks to yet another dominant outing from David Price, the Toronto Blue Jays built on their AL East lead Monday, and now sit 3.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees.
With two regular season starts remaining, Price looks like a leading candidate for the AL Cy Young. He leads the league in ERA (2.34) and wins above replacement (6.3) while ranking second in innings (215.1) and fourth in strikeouts (219). Houston’s Dallas Keuchel may still be favoured to win, but Price is right there with him.
Here’s what to watch for during the rest of the Yankees series…
Tuesday, Sept. 22 – 7:07 p.m. ET
Marco Estrada vs. Luis Severino
Wednesday, Sept. 23 – 7:07 p.m. ET
Marcus Stroman vs. Ivan Nova
Cecil dominates, Sanchez struggles
Brett Cecil pitched the Blue Jays out of a huge spot Monday, striking out the side in the eighth inning. It was the third game in a row that he has pitched, so he’ll presumably get the night off Tuesday, pushing the struggling Aaron Loup higher on the Blue Jays’ depth chart of relievers.
Speaking of which, shouldn’t the Blue Jays limit Aaron Sanchez’s exposure to left-handed hitters? He dominates against right-handers (career .155/.231/.183 batting line against) while left-handed bats hit him hard (.260/.366/.442). The Blue Jays are aware of the splits; it stands to reason they should now put Sanchez in position to succeed by limiting the number of lefties he faces.
No Tanaka
The Blue Jays caught a break when Masahiro Tanaka was scratched from his Wednesday outing due to a hamstring issue. The right-hander has a 2.42 ERA in four starts against Toronto this year, and Ivan Nova’s not nearly as effective.
Stroman’s third start
If Marcus Stroman keeps pitching the way he did Friday, he’s going to be in the Blue Jays’ postseason rotation should the team advance. The right-hander pitched seven innings against the Boston Red Sox Friday, generating more ground balls and fewer strikeouts than he did in 2014 on his way to an impressive performance. He’ll get the chance to build on that start when he faces the Yankees for the second time this season.
Opportunity for Lowe
If Mark Lowe keeps pitching like this he’s going to keep finding himself in big spots for the Blue Jays. The right-hander has dominated in recent weeks, establishing himself as one of John Gibbons’ top setup relievers while LaTroy Hawkins rests a sore forearm.
Lowe had a Blue Jays debut to forget, allowing three runs in a game Toronto lost by one run. Since then he has dominated, with just seven hits and one walk allowed in 15 innings. He has a 1.20 ERA with 11 strikeouts during that span — impressive numbers that suggest he’ll be pitching lots more late innings.
Looking ahead
If the Blue Jays do reach the ALDS, they’re going to have some tough decisions to make. They could roster eight relievers, but if last year’s playoff rosters are any indication the safe bet is seven; three of the four AL teams went with seven-man bullpens in 2014.
The apparent locks: Osuna, Sanchez, Lowe and Cecil. Liam Hendriks would seem to have a good shot, as does LaTroy Hawkins, if healthy. Mix in a long reliever, presumably whichever starter doesn’t crack the playoff rotation, and you have seven. There’s just one lefty in the mix, but plenty of pitchers who can retire hitters on either side (and realistically the Blue Jays don’t use lefties other than Cecil in many high-leverage situations anyways).
