Blue Jays Week in Review: The Bats Are Coming Alive!

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 5/4 through Sun, 5/11
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Record Last Week: 4-2 (Overall: 20-20)
Run Differential Last Week: +11 (Overall: -22)
Standings: Third Place in AL East (3.0 GB), 10th in AL (1.0 GB of Third Wild Card)

Last Week’s Results
Game 35: TOR 3 - LAA 8
Ureña: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (Jose Ureña's Blue Jays debut!)
Springer: 2-4, HR (4)
Santander: 1-4, HR (5)
García and Hoffman combined for 6 ER allowed

Game 36: TOR 4 - LAA 5
Berríos: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 9 K
Bichette: 1-4, 2 RBI
Straw: 2-4, RBI

Game 37: TOR 8 - LAA 5
Bassitt: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Varsho: 3-5, HR (3)
Guerrero: 3-4, 2 R
Y. Rodríguez: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 5 K

Game 38: TOR 6 - SEA 3
Gausman: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Barger: 3-4, 3 2B
Lukes: 1-4, HR (2)

Game 39: TOR 6 - SEA 3
Francis: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
Bichette: 2-4, HR (2)
Kirk: 4-5 

Game 40: TOR 9 - SEA 1
Lauer: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (Ureña started: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K)
Barger: 2-4, HR (1), BB
Springer: 2-5, HR (5), 3 RBI

Highlights
Addison Barger looked the best that he ever has as a big leaguer, going 7-for-14 with three doubles and his first home run, all with some extreme exit velocities. All three doubles had an exit velocity of at least 109 mph, with the hardest one at 116.5 mph, the hardest batted ball of his career. The home run was another solid 107 mph off the bat. Combine that all with his go-ahead RBI single on Saturday and holding his own defensively at third base, and Barger looks like a key part of this team going forward.

Another week, another Daulton Varsho master class. Not only did he hit his third home run in as many games, he also had another elite catch, this time timing the jump perfectly to rob a home run from Ben Williamson. John Schneider is showing faith in his center field, as he had him hitting third in the lineup between Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer, and it has been working so far.

The bullpen as a whole was pretty effective all week (with a few exceptions), but Yariel Rodríguez needs to be highlighted here. In his first outing, he faced five batters and got four of them out, striking out two. In the finale against the Angels, he faced seven batters and got six of them out, five via the strikeout. In fact, he earned more fWAR (0.3) than any other Blue Jays pitcher this week. He’s always been a streaky pitcher, but he has the ability to be a high-leverage shutdown reliever, and he showed that this week.

Lowlights
Yimi García was one of the lowlights in last week's recap, and this week started similarly. He came into the eighth inning on Tuesday to protect a one-run lead, and the rough patch continued, as a walk, an error, a strikeout and a base hit led to García being removed from the game. All the inherited runners ended up scoring, pushing his ERA up to 4.20. On Friday, it looked like it was going to be more of the same. The command wasn't there, and he allowed the first three Mariners to reach base, although this time he was able to work out of the jam without the runs scoring and ultimately helped the Jays win. Here’s hoping that his rough patch was just a quick blip and the dominant García is back to stay.

Jeff Hoffman also started to show some vulnerability. While he came into this week with a 1.10 ERA and just one home run allowed on the season, the Angels got to him hard. He gave up two long balls in his first appearance of the week, which gave the Angels some insurance. Then, in game two, he took his first loss of the season, allowing four of the five batters he faced to reach base as the Angels walked off the Blue Jays. The blip didn't last long, as in his two outings against the Mariners, he threw two scoreless innings with six strikeouts. He’ll be just fine.

Random Stats of the Week:

• The Blue Jays scored six or more runs four times this week. They had only done that six other times this season.
• The Blue Jays had ten or more hits in five straight games, setting a season high for consecutive games with double-digit hits.
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did not have an RBI this week. It's the second time this season he's gone six or more games without an RBI.
• Yariel Rodríguez accumulated 0.3 fWAR this week, second highest among all MLB relievers. Mason Fluharty and Brendon Little were fourth and fifth, respectively.
• Blue Jays hitters had an MLB-high .380 BAPIP this week.

News, Notes and Not Playing

• The Blue Jays recalled INF Michael Stefanic and OF Jonatan Clase from Buffalo.
• RP Braydon Fischer was selected and added to the bullpen.
• OF Alan Roden and RP Josh Walker were sent to Triple A.
• RP Dillon Tate and OF Steward Berroa were DFA’d.
• SP Jake Bloss has been sent for imaging after a recent start. There is still no word on his diagnosis. 

Day-to-day: Anthony Santander, Alejandro Kirk

• Santander played right field in Anaheim and was seen shaking and stretching out his shoulder a few times in the outfield. He was then out of the lineup for the next two days, and John Schneider described the injury as a “cranky"  shoulder (via Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). He’s day-to-day for now. 
• Kirk was removed from Sunday's finale after a follow-through of a swing hit him on the ear, He has a head contusion and is considered day-to-day

15-day IL: Nick Sandlin, Andrés Giménez

• Giménez has a quad strain and will be out until at least May 18.
• Sandlin has been playing catch from up to 60 feet.

60-day IL: Max Scherzer, Erik Swanson, Ryan Burr

• Scherzer threw a bullpen session on Wednesday and then faced live hitters for 20 more pitches. Schneider said “his stuff was really good," and this is a "step in the right direction" (per Andrés Soto of MLB.com).
• Both Swanson and Burr threw in the Florida Complex League. Next stop will be in Buffalo (via Matheson).

Trending Storylines
Coming into the week, the storyline surrounding this team was a lack of power and overall production from the offence. With a strong weekend performance, the Blue Jays seem to be turning a bit of a corner. They hit seven more home runs this week and have eleven since May 1, which puts them 12th in MLB during that time. It's not that noticeable yet, but if their power numbers continue to improve, this may be the week we look back on as when it all began.

Even with the struggles from García and Hoffman early in the week, the Blue Jays bullpen looks leaps and bounds better than in 2024. Their bullpen as a whole racked up 0.7 fWAR this week, which was the second most in baseball (behind the Twins). They also led the league in strikeouts and allowed the sixth fewest walks. Mason Fluharty, Brendon Little, Chad Green and Yariel Rodríguez all pitched scoreless relief outings this week, and the 'pen is rapidly becoming a strength of this team.  

Looking Ahead
The Blue Jays have escaped the West Coast and will return home for a nine-game homestand. After an off day on Monday, they welcome the Tampa Bay Rays for three games and then the American League-leading Detroit Tigers for another three. The Blue Jays are 11-8 at home so far on the season and will need to keep that going against two tough teams coming into Rogers Centre this week.