TORONTO — Resuming play out of the all-star break atop the American League East for the first time since 1993 makes this somewhat new ground for these Toronto Blue Jays. A 39-21 run May 8 through July 13 to close out the unofficial first half created an opportunity for them in an open, but cluttered circuit. What they make of it now is in their own hands.
“We did some really great things, built a good culture, I would say, where winning is first and it's just a really exciting group of guys to come to the field with,” star shortstop Bo Bichette said. “I don't really know if anybody's a role player on our team because everybody has contributed so much, but it really starts with some of the guys who weren't supposed to be big parts of the team really embracing roles, doing them for the betterment of the team and then contributing a ton — big hits, big moments, all of that. It really starts with them.”
On Friday, as they began a litmus-test, six-game homestand, the Blue Jays’ success continued with them, too, as RBI singles by Joey Loperfido and Nathan Lukes sandwiched Will Wagner’s two-run double in a four-run second to pace a 4-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Chris Bassitt used a pair of double plays to work around early traffic and deliver six shutout innings, walking off the mound with two on and one out in the seventh to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 41,339. Brendon Little cleared that jam with two strikeouts, Yariel Rodriguez followed with a clean eighth, while Jeff Hoffman handled the ninth.
Tidy, efficient stuff all-around.
“All the credit to one-through-nine, whoever we roll out there, just because from a starting pitcher's standpoint, it's really difficult when you're not able to just focus on three, four hitters,” said Bassitt. “It helps us a lot because it takes a lot of pressure off of Bo, Vlad (Guerrero Jr.) and those top of the lineup guys. All of a sudden, I feel like you let your guard down a little bit because they're not Bo and Vladdy, and the guys that are so-called role players are taking advantage of it.”
At 56-41, the Blue Jays are now three games clear of the New York Yankees (53-44), who return to the dome for an intriguing three-game set that starts Monday, and four up on the Boston Red Sox (53-46).
Still, with less than two weeks to go before the July 31 trade deadline, a pre-game injury update from manager John Schneider underlined the challenges lying ahead for the club.
With lots of bad news — Yimi Garcia, already on the injured list due to a left ankle sprain, is now experiencing “ulnar-nerve symptoms” in his right elbow and facing more tests; Bowden Francis is shut down for at least 10 days after feeling “a bit cranky shoulder-wise” to see if the issue can be abated; Ryan Burr will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery to repair a capsular injury — internal concerns about pitching depth are suddenly more acute.
Add in that Anthony Santander is due back in Toronto on Saturday for testing that’s “a combination of checking up and then if he can get clearance and say, hey, let's get after it, or if you need more time, you need more time,” according to Schneider, and the Blue Jays’ needs before the deadline have a chance to shift substantially.
The club had, obviously, hoped for better news and “it sucks” not getting some, said Schneider, who added that “I did not like the emails, per se, that (medical director Andrew Pipkin) was sending over the break.”
At the same time, “we always say your depth is going to be tested, that's been true to this point, and guys have done a good job of stepping up,” he added. “Some (emails) were OK, but quickest back, you look at probably (Daulton) Varsho, Andres Gimenez, to be a little bit quicker than the other guys. We're going to continue to have to figure out ways to fill the void. It's been cool to watch some supporting cast members really step up and have us win in ways we weren't really planning on when the season started. But, yeah, you don't like to see these things continue to, A, happen or, B, take more time than you thought. So, next man up.”
The latest exhibit of that came Friday, as the Blue Jays' key offensive contributions came from players who might not have been in the lineup (Lukes) or the majors (Loperfido, Wagner) if not for the injuries to others.
They’ve helped cover for two injury absences for Varsho, who could return within seven to 10 days, the loss of Santander and two absences for Gimenez, who is doing light work but still staying off his left ankle.
Wagner, recalled June 28 after making some adjustments at triple-A Buffalo, including bringing back a leg kick, drove in his first runs since rejoining the club.
“It’s always good to help the team out,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming to come through for the guys, but it felt good tonight to come through with that double.”
The Blue Jays have had similar contributions on the pitching side, be it from Eric Lauer and Braydon Fisher, Paxton Schultz, who is on the injured list, or Mason Fluharty, who’s back at Buffalo after hitting a wall.
However, Garcia’s new elbow issues, Francis’ setback and Burr’s loss for the season further thin out a bullpen also missing Nick Sandlin (playing catch after elbow inflammation) and currently carrying depth arms like Robinson Pina, Tommy Nance and Justin Bruihl.
A few weeks ago, the Blue Jays said that their deadline wishlist would be adding a starter, a reliever and a right-handed bat at the deadline. Now, ideally, they probably need at least one leverage-calibre arm for the bullpen, maybe another reliable reliever and perhaps a swingman-type to protect against further attrition, along with a starter.
That’s a lot to accomplish in what executives currently describe as a tight trade market, but that may change in the next two weeks as bubble teams decide to be in or out as the cut-off looms.
For the time being, “we've got to continue to do our part the next couple of weeks to hopefully make that push,” said Schneider. “When you're in it, that's always been the case with Ross (Atkins) and the group. So you can, I don't want to say rely on it, but you can kind of factor that into the equation as long as we're continuing to play the way we're playing, that there'll be some additions from the outside.”
The additions from the inside have already done more than their part.
“Everybody's job is really to take pressure off the guy next to them by doing the job the best they can, playing to win, and we've done a great job of it,” said Bichette. “Just having competitive at-bats, not trying to be the hero. Guys like Ernie (Clement) and Lukes and (Myles) Straw and many others have led by example of playing to win and doing their jobs and just doing what it takes to win. That's been a huge key to our success.”
Key enough for these Blue Jays to build a small lead atop the division, and to earn some reinforcements to help them stay there.
