Blue Jays Week in Review: The Halfway Point

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 6/23 through Sun, 6/29
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Record Last Week: 4-2 (Overall: 45-38)
Run Differential Last Week: +6 (Overall: -4)
Standings: Third Place in AL East (3.0 GB), Fifth in AL (Currently in second Wild Card spot, 1.5 games back of TBR and 2.0 games up on SEA)

Last Week’s Results
Game 78
TOR 10 - CLE 6
Lauer: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 3 BB (Lauer's most pitches (86) and innings this season)
Chad Green: Barf City
Springer: Grand Slam

Game 79
CLE 5 - TOR 4 (10 innings)
Scherzer: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 K, 3 BB (83 pitches)
Guerrero Jr.: 1-for-3, HR (11)

Game 80
TOR 6 - CLE 0
Gausman: 8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 6 K, 1 BB (104 pitches)
Kirk: Pinch-hit 2-RBI insurance

Game 81
TOR 9 - BOS 0
Berríos: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 8 K, 1 BB
Springer: 3 for 5 with a pair of runs and RBIs
Clement: 2-for-2 with 3 walks

Game 82
BOS 15 - TOR 1
Bassitt: 2 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 3 K, 4 BB
Team: 0-for-7 with RISP

Game 83
TOR 5 - BOS 3
Lauer: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 4 K, 0 BB
Barger: 1-for-4, HR (9)
Guerrero Jr.: 1-for-4, HR (12)

Highlights
Andrés Giménez returned to Cleveland for the first time since the Jays acquired him this season. He wasted no time reminding those in attendance why he’s the reigning Gold Glover with a diving play that took him partway into left-centre before turning to fire the ball to Vladdy at first for the out.

In Boston, it was Ernie Clement’s turn to make a case for his own Gold Glove, extending himself over the fence to make a catch in foul territory at Fenway.

With the exception of one start (which we’ll cover in the next section), the starting pitching this week was lights out. From Kevin Gausman and José Berríos throwing eight and seven innings of shutout ball, respectively, to Eric Lauer getting it done over a pair of starts, the Jays got what they needed from the rotation. I should make a special mention of the return of Max Scherzer. His five innings of sporadic control weren't vintage Mad Max, but the first step was always going to be putting in the innings and recovering well enough to make his next scheduled start… and it’s a big one.

Lowlights
Following his start against the Red Sox, Chris Bassitt had this to say:

Quote

“I have a lot of respect for Alex Cora, the Boston Red Sox, and everything that they do over there,” Bassitt said. “So, obviously I've got to dive into everything. Am I being too predictable? Am I tipping? Were their approaches a lot better than what I was throwing up there? Like, what caused that? Because I don't know how many pitches I threw but, for the most part, I didn't make many mistakes. And yet, the game went the way it did.”

Given how poorly the Red Sox have performed recently, and the fact that the Jays won the other two games of the series, it’s probably not prudent to assume nefarious actions from Boston, but this team is a division rival, so I’ll say it: They’re cheats! Regardless of the reason, two innings and eight earned runs from Bassitt was a lowlight.

The Jays also had a pair of runners thrown out at first base after reaching safely. Giménez and Tyler Heineman (the latter with two outs and the bases loaded) were both picked off first base. You never want to make outs on the basepaths, and given the Jays' commitment to improved baserunning this season, these two outs were rather glaring.

News, Notes and Not Playing

• Robinson Piña acquired from Marlins in exchange for Colby Martin
• Spencer Turnbull designated for assignment
• Will Wagner recalled from Triple-A Buffalo
• Alan Roden optioned to Triple-A Buffalo
• Justin Bruihl recalled from Triple-A Buffalo

10-day IL: Anthony Santander, Daulton Varsho

• Early in the week, Varsho felt some hamstring tightness while running the bases. He’s ramping back up and showing progress, but there isn’t a return date targeted yet.
• Santander has not yet started swinging a bat, so his timeline is even less clear.

15-day IL: Paxton Schultz, Yimi García, Bowden Francis

• García pitched in the Complex League on Monday, Dunedin on Thursday, and Buffalo yesterday. As long as there are no setbacks, he should be back with the big club shortly.
• Francis had a cortisone shot and has been playing catch with a ramp-up anticipated.
• Schultz was just placed on the IL Saturday with middle finger inflammation (the finger he most likely wanted to show the Boston fans after his last appearance). 

60-day IL: Alek Manoah, Ryan Burr

• During the Jays broadcast on Tuesday, it was reported that Manoah had thrown 25 pitches of BP and touched 95 with the fastball. He’s scheduled to throw two more sessions of BP on Canada Day and will be evaluated again following that.
• Burr pitched in Triple A this week and could see himself back with the Jays in the coming weeks without a setback.

Trending Storylines
Bassitt’s start aside, the Jays' pitching had a pretty stellar week. If they can string a few more weeks like that together, especially if Scherzer can keep making a positive impact every fifth day, they’ll really be cooking.

The next week brings seven games at the Rogers Centre, so they have a slight reprieve until we worry about the team's home/road batting splits.

Looking Ahead
A four-game set in Toronto against the Yankees starts tonight. It doesn’t get much bigger than that at this point in the season. Is three out of four too much to hope for? Is the sweep in play? Scherzer gets the start in game one of the series, and we’ll all be looking to see how he builds on his last outing.

Following the Yankees series, we’ll be seeing the resurgent Angels. Since they took two of three from the Jays in early May, they’ve gone 26-21 and find themselves knocking on the door of the last wild card spot. It won’t be an easy week, but the Jays can grind out some wins.