KANSAS CITY, MO — The Toronto Blue Jays (44-44) travel to Missouri this weekend for a three-game set with the Kansas City Royals (50-33), the final series for both teams before the all-star break.
While the Blue Jays sit smack in the middle of an AL East logjam that likely won’t sort itself out until September, the Royals have a decent lead on a strong AL Central, five games ahead of the surprising Minnesota Twins.
Here are a few things to watch for in Kansas City.
Friday, July 10 at 8:10 PM ET
Marco Estrada vs. Danny Duffy
Saturday, July 11 at 2:10 PM ET
Mark Buehrle vs. Chris Young
Sunday, July 12 at 2:10 PM ET
Felix Doubront vs. Edinson Volquez
The Blue Jays come into this series as massive underdogs. Having lost their last three series, the team is in a legitimate slide as even the MLB-best offence is slumping, scoring three runs or less in four of its last six games. The team has lost eight of its last 11 and is back at .500 for the first time in exactly a month.
The Royals, on the other hand, are on fire and have won six of their last seven — three of them via walk-offs — while scoring seven runs or more in each of their last four games. While the Blue Jays come into the series at the end of a 10-game road trip, the Royals are finishing off an 11-game homestand. Any way you slice it, the Royals have a definite advantage on paper coming into the series.
As strong as they’ve been all season and in spite of the winning streak they’ll ride into this series, the Royals are dealing with all sorts of uncertainty. Kansas City’s best player, Alex Gordon, strained his groin chasing a fly ball Wednesday night and will miss the next two months, leaving a gaping hole in the Royals lineup. Gordon had a team-best .852 OPS and was coming off a Tuesday double-header when he went 7-for-9, driving in six runs and nearly powering the Royals offence singlehandedly.
Meanwhile, the pitching staff is facing its own challenges. Soft-tossing 34-year-old Joe Blanton was originally thrust into spot-starting Saturday’s contest after an early week rainout and double header forced the Royals to juggle their rotation, but manager Ned Yost ended up needing to use Blanton in the ninth Wednesday night — he promptly allowed three runs — which means 36-year-old Chris Young will now start Saturday’s game on just three-day’s rest.
Blue Jays all-star Jose Bautista has struggled mightily of late, batting .140 (7-for-54) over his last 16 games, with just four extra base hits and 12 strikeouts. He’s still getting on base, as 13 walks in that span have earned him a .313 OBP, but he’s been unable to generate much in terms of the loud offence Blue Jays fans have come to expect from him. Bautista’s struggles at the plate are certainly uncharacteristic, and the 34-year-old could break out in a big way at any given time. But if he isn’t able to do that in Kansas City, the Blue Jays will have to look elsewhere for the run support their unreliable pitching staff so often needs.
After Scott Copeland and Matt Boyd both faltered in their rotation auditions, lefty Felix Doubront gave the Blue Jays all they could have asked for when his number was finally called this week, providing 6.2 innings of one-run ball against the White Sox. The 27-year-old signed as a minor league free agent shortly after spring training and has been stuck in triple-A Buffalo for much of the season, but if he can deliver another solid start in Kansas City he may give the Blue Jays some difficult rotation decisions coming out of the all-star break. Aaron Sanchez is on the mend, Daniel Norris has been pitching well in Buffalo and Toronto won’t officially require a fifth starter until Sunday, July 26 in Seattle. Of course, a pre-deadline trade could throw even more intrigue into all of that. Stay tuned.
He’s played just 11 games there, but Josh Donaldson sure does seem to enjoy hitting at Kauffman Stadium. He’s batting .368/.432/.737 in 44 plate appearances in KC, with four homers and two doubles. Edwin Encarnacion also has great success in this ballpark, batting .316/.394/.614 in 66 plate appearances, with three homers and eight doubles. It could be a loud weekend for two of Toronto’s most powerful bats.