TORONTO – Before we analyze the details of Ryan Borucki’s start, let’s first acknowledge its broader significance to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Considered a potential long-term starter when the season began, Borucki instead missed the first three-plus months of the year with a left elbow injury. A bone spur caused initial inflammation in the area, leading to a cortisone shot. After a period of rest, he finally started feeling like himself again.
Four rehab starts later, he’s here, pitching on a big-league mound again. That in itself represents a meaningful step.
“Absolutely,” said catcher Danny Jansen, a close friend of Borucki’s who watched some of those rehab starts on MiLB.TV. “He’s going to have a long career, so I’m stoked for him to be back here.”
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Of course the goal wasn’t just to get to Toronto, it was to succeed here and make up for lost time with a strong second half. While Borucki made it back Monday, he wasn’t especially sharp as the Blue Jays lost 7-3 to Cleveland.
“Just a little rusty,” Borucki said. “I had a lot of adrenaline running the first day out, but it’s just a building block.”
“I was anxious a little bit, just wanted to get that first one under my belt,” he continued. “Now it’s a starting point for me.”
Perhaps predictably, the 25-year-old’s command wasn’t quite there over 4.2 innings. He threw as many balls as strikes (47) and walked more batters (four) than he struck out (three). Too often he scattered his slider, leaving some high up in potentially dangerous territory.
Still, Borucki hit 93.9 m.p.h. on the radar gun and generated seven ground ball outs. He allowed four runs on seven hits, but two of those runs were unearned, the product of a rare Freddy Galvis fielding error in the second. Borucki and the Blue Jays can build on this.
“He did a good job,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. “His command wasn’t great, but he battled.”
“His fastball had about as much life as I’ve ever seen,” Jansen added. “I was amped for him. He was amped, too, but he did a great job composing himself.”
Early in the game, Borucki cut the side of the middle finger of his pitching hand with his thumbnail, leading to visible blood. Afterwards, he said these abrasions happen a couple times each year and don’t impact his ability to make pitches.
But as one pitcher returned from the injured list, another left the game in pain. Justin Shafer grimaced when he felt a pinch in his elbow in the sixth and summoned a team trainer to the mound. After a quick visit, he exited with what the team’s describing as right elbow discomfort.
At the plate the Blue Jays didn’t do much against Cleveland starter Mike Clevinger. Home runs from Justin Smoak and Billy McKinney accounted for all of the scoring, though Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did collect two singles.
Even with Borucki back, questions linger in the rotation. The Blue Jays placed Trent Thornton on the injured list with right elbow inflammation Monday, creating yet another opening in a rotation that has lacked stability all season long.
The Blue Jays haven’t yet determined who will take Thornton’s spot while the rookie rests in Florida, but they don’t need a fifth starter just yet. Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman will finish off the Cleveland series after which Thursday’s off day will allow Jacob Waguespack and Borucki to pitch against the Rays on regular rest.
“Hopefully my next couple starts I can find my groove and try to do what I did last year,” Borucki said.
One way or another there’s plenty of opportunity in this Blue Jays rotation. Counting Borucki, 15 different pitchers have now started games for this team, surpassing last year’s total. By the time the season ends, that total could approach 20.
To some extent, that’s just baseball in 2019. Even the best teams are using openers and relying on a wide array of starters to get through the season. But you’d still like to have more stability than this. Remember 2016, when five Blue Jays pitchers started at least 29 games? Seems like a long time ago.
Eventually, the Blue Jays would like Borucki to be part of the solution for their next contending team. As the season unfolds from here, he’ll have the chance to prove he belongs there. And for now? At least he’s back on a big-league mound.
“I set the bar high for myself after last year’s season,” Borucki said. “Obviously this season didn’t start the way I wanted it to. But I’m just happy I’m healthy and pitching again. That was my main concern. And I feel good.”
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