The Toronto Blue Jays make their second stop on a three-city road trip Monday for a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox. After dropping five of their last seven, the Jays arrive at “The Cell” looking to recapture some of the magic they found in June.
Here are a few things to watch for in Chicago:
Monday, July 6 – 8:10 p.m. ET
Mark Buehrle vs. Chris Sale
Tuesday, July 7 – 8:10 p.m. ET
TBA vs. Jose Quintana
Wednesday, July 8 – 8:10 p.m. ET
Drew Hutchison vs. John Danks
Thursday, July 9 – 2:10 p.m. ET
R.A. Dickey vs. Jeff Samardzija
A Sale you’d rather miss
Chris Sale was originally scheduled to start on Sunday versus the Baltimore Orioles. But White Sox manager Robin Ventura and pitching coach Don Cooper opted to give their star left-hander a fifth day of rest, which means he’ll now face off against his former teammate and mentor, Jays lefty Mark Buehrle.
Sale, 26, is bad news for any team he faces. On June 19 he became just the third pitcher in baseball’s modern era to throw five consecutive games with at least 12 strikeouts. He’s 6-4 with a 2.87 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and a 141/22 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his first 15 starts.
The upside? Toronto’s team OPS versus left-handers is tops in all of baseball, meaning they’ve got a good shot at getting on the board. Plus, Buehrle has been solid in his last six starts and hasn’t been pegged with a loss since May 23.
Pitching woes
After Matt Boyd’s historically bad start on July 2—he earned the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first starter in team history to give up seven earned runs without recording an out—the Jays are once again looking for a starter to fill the spot in the rotation left open by Aaron Sanchez’s injury.
Felix Doubront—called up Friday to provide a much-needed bullpen arm following Boyd’s blow-up—is the leading candidate to start Tuesday, having pitched only 2.1 innings since joining the Jays. The alternative would be another reinforcement from triple-A Buffalo.
Sox surging?
With the White Sox sitting at the bottom of the AL Central, 10 games back from first place, many have suggested that Chicago’s management will blow up the roster before the trade deadline. While the team could still make some deals if the getting is good, White Sox vice president Ken Williams told USA Today that there are no plans for a fire sale, saying, “Just because it hasn’t come to fruition yet, it would be short-sighted to tear it down and go for a total rebuild.” And after winning four of their last five games—sweeping the Cardinals in a two-game set and taking two of three from the Orioles—there could be reason for hope after all.
Wins below replacement
Chicago shortstop Alexei Ramirez has notched -1.3 WAR so far this season, good for worst in all of baseball. With former Blue Jay Melky Cabrera contributing -0.8 WAR of his own, Jays fans can hope the duo will continue sucking wins away from the White Sox to the benefit of Toronto’s starting pitching.
Knuckleball rebound
In the final game of the series, R.A. Dickey will take the mound intent on rebounding from his last start, a difficult outing on Saturday versus the Tigers. In that game, which the Jays lost 8–3, Dickey allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings—four of those runs coming in the first inning. Dickey, who has an ERA of 5.02, admitted that he couldn’t get the right feel for his staple pitch, saying, “It was probably one of the worst knuckleballs I’ve had all year.”
