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Blue Jays rain notes: Price being held out until playoffs

By Keegan Matheson

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The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles are battling with Mother Nature this afternoon. After 20 minutes of it being blatantly obvious that the game needed to be halted, the umpiring crew finally made the decision to pull the tarps over and wait out the rain. The clubs are hoping that a window of opportunity will open up shortly and allow them to get the remainder of the game in. Drew Hutchison, on the other hand, is probably just hoping for more rain.

[Update 1:24 ET: The tarp is coming off the field]
[Update 2:  1:33 ET: The tarp is back on the field. That lasted long]

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Let’s tidy up some of the latest Blue Jays news and notes as we wait. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes that David Price will not be making another regular season appearance as manager John Gibbons has opted to give him some added rest. Price will, of course, be starting game one of the American League Divisional Series this coming Thursday.

I see the logic from both sides of the argument here, but admit that it’s a little surprising. Davidi reports that the Blue Jays will have Price throw one or two simulated games ahead of his playoff start, but why not replace those with four-to-five innings of live game action?

This also leaves the Blue Jays shorthanded in their quest to secure the top spot in the American League over the Kansas City Royals, which would give them home field advantage throughout the playoffs. There’s a balancing act to master here, between risking injury and fatigue to the starters and having them fresh for Thursday. The potential for today’s weather to prolong their stay in Baltimore along with the possibility of travel complications make the decision to rest today’s starters look OK in hindsight, at least.


MacArthur’s tweet puts to rest any small concerns over Price from a physical standpoint, but this is also one of the final steps that Troy Tulowitzki must take towards re-entering the lineup. He’s progressed to this point in his recovery without any noticeable setbacks, and who better to face in a sim game than an AL Cy Young candidate?

The primary goal for today is to escape Baltimore. Preferably with a win, but given the early 3-0 deficit and a AAA roster, that might be a little much to ask. Mark Buehrle is now scheduled to start game one in Tampa Bay ahead of Marco Estrada in game two. If Buehrle still needs some extra work to top 200.0 innings on the season, expect to see him early in the Sunday finale.

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