Toronto Blue Jays Week in Review: Timely Hits Wanted

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 4/14 through Sun, 4/20
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Record Last Week: 3-3 (Overall: 12-10)
Run Differential Last Week: -6 (Overall: +2)
Standings: Second Place in AL East (2.0 GB), 3rd Place in AL Wildcard (0.0 GB)

Last Week's Results:
Game 17: | ATL 8  - TOR 4 
Lucas: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
Straw: 1-for-2, HR

Game 18: | ATL 3 - TOR 6
Gausman: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Roden: first career home run. Santander: 3-run HR same inning

Game 19: | ATL 1 - TOR 3
Bassitt: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K
Guerrero Jr.: 2-for-3 with first HR of the season
Team record for K’s in a nine-inning game

Game 20: | SEA 1 - TOR 3
Francis: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Barger: 3 OF assists 

Game 21: | SEA 8 - TOR 4 (12 innings)
Berríos: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
12 team hits - none when it counted (nine chances to win)

Game 22: | SEA 8 - TOR 3
Lucas: 1.2 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Shultz: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K

Highlights

Chris Bassitt and his 10 Ks against Atlanta led the charge and set the tone for the Jays to set the team record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game.

The bullpen as a whole had a pretty good week. Brendon Little, Nick Sandlin, Yimi García and Jeff Hoffman combined for four innings of one-run ball while striking out nine to set the team record in Bassitt’s start. The next game, Mason Fluharty, Chad Green, García and Hoffman combined for three shutout innings in the win over Seattle. Little, Sandlin, Green and Yariel Rodríguez kept the Jays in it through 11 innings (Berríos’ start) the next game. There were some hiccups – Jacob Barnes took the loss in the 12th inning of that game and has already been DFA’d – but considering the state of the bullpen last season, this has been a bright spot. 

Paxton Schultz made his first MLB appearance and tied the league record for strikeouts by a reliever in their debut with eight. He pitched 4.1 scoreless innings and kept the Jays within striking distance. Can’t ask for more than that!

Addison Barger made his way back to the big club this week and made a couple of highlight-reel plays with his arm. In the span of two innings, he made the first, third and seventh-fastest thrown outfield assists of the season. That includes a 98.8-mph cannon, which was faster than any pitch thrown in the game (Hoffman and Bryan Woo each threw a 98.0-mph fastball to tie for the fastest pitches).

Lowlights

Run creation. This was especially clear in the extra-innings loss to Seattle. The Jays had nine opportunities where a single would have won the game but came up empty. Outside of the double-HR inning that saw Alan Roden and Anthony Santander go deep, it was really an issue all week. It’s not even a power-drought issue, but the fact that Rowdy Tellez was on the other side of it, crushing a grand slam for the win, was a real exclamation point. No team in the American League has had more plate appearances with RISP than Toronto, but their 82 wRC+ in those situations flat out isn’t good enough.

After acing his first two starts, Easton Lucas’ two starts this week were more from the bottom of the deck. 14 earned runs given up in less than seven innings of work (he didn’t see the end of the second inning against Seattle) is a tough look. With this spot in the rotation due up next weekend in the Bronx, we might see a rotation shakeup before then.

News, Notes and Not Playing

Yimi García celebrated 10 years of service time in the league and has now pitched more innings with Toronto than any other franchise he has been a part of. 

Nathan Lukes and Daulton Varsho had babies. A time for celebration to be sure, but also a time to reflect on the passage of time. Former Jays Centre managing editor Davy Andrews took a deep dive over at FanGraphs to see if we could learn anything more.

Day-to-day: George Springer
Springer missed most of the Atlanta series dealing with a wrist issue, but was back in the lineup for the Seattle games. This is his second day-to-day mention and one we’ll be keeping an eye on.

10-day IL: Daulton Varsho 
Varsho has started a rehab assignment and could be back with the Jays by the end of the month.

15-day IL: Erik Swanson, Ryan Burr, Max Scherzer, Nick Sandlin
Sandlin joins the list of pitchers on the 15-day. He had been feeling a lat issue and pitched through it, but the club is taking the cautious route to reevaluate over the next couple of weeks.

Scherzer received another cortisone shot in his thumb and is expected to join the Jays on their road trip this week. However, his timeline to return to game action remains unclear.

Trending Storyline

With just four home runs hit last week, we’re still looking for the power switch to be flipped fully on. Straw’s homer was as satisfying as it was unlikely, Roden and Santander going deep in the same inning was transcendent, and Vladdy getting his first of the season was a good start – but that was it. Only the light-hitting Royals have fewer long balls than Toronto, and considering the Jays' success with getting runners on base, the lack of power production has been especially frustrating.

Looking Ahead

A three-game set in Houston to start the week and another in New York to take on the Yankees to end it. Daikin Park and Yankee Stadium offer shorter porches in both left and right field than the Rogers Centre… maybe that will kick-start some Toronto power.