Blue Jays Week in Review: A Tale of Two Series

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 5/19 through Sun, 5/25
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Record Last Week: 3-3 (Overall: 25-27)
Run Differential Last Week: +1 (Overall: -27)
Standings: Fourth Place in AL East (7.0 GB), 12th in AL (3.0 GB of Third Wild Card)

Last Week’s Results
Game 47: SD 0 - TOR 3
Bassitt: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Guerrero Jr.: 1-3, HR (6)
Santander: 1-3, HR (6)
Hoffman: 1.0 IP, K, SV (10)

Game 48: SD 0 - TOR 14
Gausman: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
Varsho: 1-5, HR (7), 4 RBI
Lukes: 3-5, HR (4), 2 RBI
Tied for the Blue Jays' highest-scoring shutout win in Rogers Centre history.

Game 49: SD 6 - TOR 7 (11)
Francis: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Barger: 3-4, RBI, 2 BB
Varsho: 1-6, 3B, 2 RBI
Yariel Rodríguez: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 3 K

Game 50: TOR 1 - TB 3
Lauer: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Clase: 1-3, BB
Springer: 0-2, 2 BB
Fisher: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 4 K

Game 51: TOR 1 - TB 3
Berríos: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Guerrero Jr.: 1-4, HR (7)
Santander: 2-2, 2 BB

Game 52: TOR 0 - TB 13
Bassitt: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Guerrero Jr.: 1-3, BB
Santander: 0-4, 3 K

Highlights
Jonatan Clase quietly had a very strong week. He got into four games and recorded five hits. He had two doubles, four walks, drove in three runs, and also chipped in with a stolen base. He did get picked off first base in the finale against Tampa Bay and still has some things to work on, but he took advantage of the opportunities he had this week.

Kevin Gausman turned in what was one of his best starts of the young season by allowing only three baserunners and striking out nine in his seven innings of work on Wednesday. His game score in this start was 80, which trails only his 82 game score from his eight-inning, 10-strikeout start at Fenway earlier this year. Most notably, his splitter seemed to return to peak Gausman levels, generating 13 whiffs on the 26 he threw. It had the lowest spin rate and most vertical movement (compared to horizontal movement) it has had all season, as Sportsnet's Blake Murphy pointed out. Jays Centre's Owen Hill made a nice video regarding Gausman and his plan of attack against Jackson Merrill, which you can watch here. If this trend continues, then Gausman might be about to go on a dominant run.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was the only Blue Jay to hit multiple home runs this week. First, he knocked a 97-mph Dylan Cease fastball to the pull side for his sixth home run of the season, the first time he’s hit a pitch that fast to the pull side for a home run since September of 2022 (per Chris Black on X). Then, on Saturday, he crushed his seventh homer of the year off of Shane Baz with a scorching 112.7-mph exit velocity, sending the ball 423 feet. Prior to this week, he had only recorded one home run in his previous fifteen games. This could be a sign that more power is about to come.

Lowlights
Bowden Francis struggled once again. He threw just four innings on Thursday and gave up two runs on three walks and yet another home run. His ERA on the season now sits at 5.54, and his 15 home runs allowed are the most in the major leagues. The Blue Jays chose to pull him early in this start to avoid him facing the Padres a third time through the order with a rested bullpen behind him. Still, Francis needs to be better. Limiting walks and finding a way to keep the ball in the ballpark would be a good place to start.

Bo Bichette has really been in a slump as of late. This week, he went 5-for-28 with all five of those hits being singles. His OPS dropped from .757 to .725, fueled by a 72.7% groundball rate and a team-low negative 8.1-degree average launch angle. Look for Bichette to start to elevate the ball more going forward as he attempts to get out of his slump.

Random Stats of the Week

• Yariel Rodríguez struck out Luis Arraez this week. He’s only the fourth pitcher to set the three-time batting champ down on strikes this season.
• Blue Jays hitters had a 12.3% walk rate this week, which trailed only the Athletics for the highest in baseball.
• The Blue Jays' hitters' 51.6% groundball rate was the highest in baseball this week.
• Braydon Fisher collected his first MLB win in extras on Thursday against the Padres.
• Michael Stefanic threw a scoreless inning as a position player pitching in Sunday's blowout.
• Myles Straw saw some time at second base on Sunday. It was the first time since 2019 he had appeared at the position.

News, Notes and Not Playing

• RP Paxton Schultz was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.
• C Ali Sánchez had his contract selected from Triple-A Buffalo.
• LHP Josh Walker was been DFA’d.

Day-to-day: Anthony Santander

• Santander was in and out of games all week. He made a pinch-hit appearance on Friday and was in the lineup on Saturday and Sunday, while still dealing with a cranky shoulder.

7-Day IL: Tyler Heineman

• C Tyler Heineman was placed on the seven-day concussion IL after taking a couple of foul tips off the mask in Thursday's finale against the Padres.

10-Day IL: Andrés Giménez

• Giménez did some running drills early in the week but is likely to need a rehab assignment before returning to games (per Sportnet's Shi Davidi).

15-day IL: Yimi García, Nick Sandlin

• Yimi García was placed on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder impingement.
• Nick Sandlin threw a bullpen early in the week and will get a couple more side sessions before facing live hitters (via Davidi).

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

• Scherzer threw bullpens near his house in Jupiter, Florida. He will rejoin the Blue Jays in Texas, and assuming all goes well, he will face some live hitters again. Then, he will head for a rehab assignment (via MLB.com's Keegan Matheson).
• Erik Swanson made a pair of rehab appearances at Single-A. He faced a total of six batters, giving up one hit and striking out two.
• Ryan Burr also appeared in a pair of rehab games, one in Dunedin and one in Buffalo. He threw two innings between the two appearances, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out three. 
• Alek Manoah was with the Jays in Florida and has begun throwing. He hopes to rejoin the big league team in the second half of the season (via Matheson).

Trending Storylines
This really was a story of two series for the Blue Jays. First, they took care of business against a San Diego Padres team that had already been slumping, earning shutouts in the first two games and a walk-off win on Thursday to complete the sweep.

Then, they showed up at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa looking like a completely different team. They scored only two runs over three games, including a 13-0 loss on Sunday, continuing a trend of not playing well against the Rays in Tampa.

Jeff Hoffman gave up a lead-off walk and a game-tying two-run home run on Thursday for his third blown save of the season, bringing his ERA up to 6.04. With Yimi García now on the 15-day IL, the Jays will need Hoffman to find some consistency in the ninth inning going forward. 

Looking Ahead
The Blue Jays will continue a stretch of 13 games in 13 days as they head to Texas to face the Rangers. They will get their first look at Jacob deGrom and try to climb back to the .500 mark before they welcome the Athletics for a four-game weekend series at Rogers Centre. The Rangers are 3-7 in their last 10, and the A’s are 1-9. This, in theory, could be a good time for the Blue Jays to take advantage of their opponents who aren’t playing well, just like they did against the Padres earlier last week.