Blue Jays Series Preview: Jays Looking to Rock the Indians

Apr 29, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher

(43) fields a chopper hit by Boston Red Sox second baseman

(not pictured) during the fifth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

The East is is taking turns pounding each other into the ground. It seems hitting is all the rage so far and pitching is leaving a lot to be desired…especially on the Blue Jays side. The pitching has been pretty brutal overall and lead the AL in home runs given up with 28. They rank 29th in the majors in team ERA while leading the Majors in runs scored…and that is with Jose Bautista ( .155 BA), Russell Martin (.186 BA) and Edwin Encarnacion  (.190 BA) having a very slooooow climb to the forces they are capable of being. The bats can only carry this team so far (thank you sooo very much Devon Travis and Josh Donaldson).

The Indians meanwhile have a woeful record of  7-13 and reside in the basement of the AL Central. As the season began it seemed s if the Indians would take that next step forward and compete for at least a good wild card spot but so far their bats are 13th in the league in batting average and 12th in team ERA. Hell they have Shaun Marcum in the rotation at this point…Yikes! The bullpen has been a real sore spot as they have blown 3 of the 7 save opportunities handed to them. The league is running rampant on Yan Gomes as they lead the league with 23 stolen bases against. Looks like this series could be a helluva hitting display and may give Jays fans a chance to see Devon Travis, Dalton Pompey and the rest run roughshod over the Indians.

Apr 25, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher

(32) throws in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Griffith-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1: Daniel Norris (1-1, 4.43 ERA) vs T.J. House (0-3, 12.60 ERA)

It’s a battle of young lefties trying to find their way in the majors. Norris is coming off the best outing of his career, 1 run given up in 7 innings with 7 strikeouts. There was concern that he was going through a dead arm phase but methinks he is over that. If he can keep his pitches under control and be the strike thrower that he is he could definitely rebound from this so-so start. Bringing down the walks will be key and inching up his strikeout total just a bit. With the way Cleveland is hitting it may be easy breezy…well the way this season has played out we’ll see.

House came on like gangbusters last year and helped the Indians. In 102 innings he walked just 22 and struck out 80 batters and posted an ERA of 3.35. In 10 innings this year he has walked 9 and struck out 7. In the minors he was usually around a 3:1 K/BB so this is very out of character for him. If he puts it together he may have his he way with the struggling bats.

Apr 26, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher

(56) throws a pitch during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2:  Mark Buehrle (3-1, 4.94 ERA) vs Carlos Carrasco (2-2, 4.60 ERA)

Buehrle had a miserable start last time out in Tampa Bay…as do many of the Blue Jays pitchers when we get there…seriously…in the ’80s it was Milwaukee that gave us fits for no reason and for the past few years it has been a cemetery of crap as they consistently get their butts handed to them. Buehrle will always give up the hits but he usually can weasel his way out of them. He had 3 quality starts to begin the season so hopefully in the grand scheme of things his last start was an aberration (13 hits in 5 2/3….damn….).

In his last start Carrasco got pelted for 9 hits in 4.1 innings and his night was done. His peripherals tell a slightly different story. His K/9 is a hearty 13.2/9…second best for any pitcher with at least 15 innings. He has also issued only 3 walks. His area of concern  is giving up more than a hit per inning and the runners he puts on are scoring. Don’t be fooled. He is a power guy who has been coming into his own. This looks like a dangerous match-up for the Blue Jays.

Apr 27, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher

(41) throws a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Game 3: Aaron Sanchez (1-2, 5.03 ERA) vs Corey Kluber (0-3, 4.24 ERA)

Sanchez is coming off his longest outing of the season…5 2/3 innings and 107 pitches. He was a little shaky at the begining but settled in nicely. The 22 year old is still finding his way and seems to have mechanical issues at times where his shoulder flies open or he has trouble finding his release point. It is possible he might get shuffled to the bullpen but for now he is battling hard. With a 1.68 WHIP is high because of his walk total but batters are getting to him at a reasonable .268 BAA. Fun Stat: in 52.2 innings pitched so far in the majors he has given up just one home run and his ground ball rate is 2.38. Those are definitely numbers to build on.

The reigning surprise Cy Young winner has no wins due to a bout of my-team-can’t-score-runs-for-me-itis.  His ERA is north of four and he is giving up more than a hit per inning which hasn’t helped. But if you look deeper his GB/FB ratio is 1 which is around the same as his 2014 season and his K:B ratio is a ridiculous 18:1. With more run support and a bit more control (4 Wild Pitches already) he will right the ship no problem.

Apr 28, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher

(36) pitches during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Game 4: Drew Hutchison (2-0, 6.67 ERA) vs Trevor Bauer (2-0, 1.80 ERA)

Hutch has been Jekyll and Hyde this season. He was brilliant in his first start in New York and great in his start at home against Baltimore…the other 5….eeeeehh a bit dodgy to say the least. We are all still waiting for Hutchison to take the next step he seemed destined for in Spring Training but he hasn’t got there yet. He has given up a lot of hits and more than his share of walks hence his WHIP of 1.52. He has the capabilities to be a great number 2 or 3, he just has to fine tune and battle through the games where he doesn’t have his best stuff. The jury is still out as to which Hutch we are going to see from game to game.

The kid has finally started to come into his own. The 24 year old Bauer  has been coveted for a few years and shown glimpses of his potential. The 3rd pick overall in the 2011 draft has settled down his mechanics and has got extra life on his fastball this year, touching 97 at times. His WHIP is 1.12 and has given up only 15 hits in 25 innings so far in 2015. If the injury issues with his back are settled we may be seeing another potential Cy Young candidate down the road.

Apr 28, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians relief pitcher

(37) pitches during the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Player to Watch

Michael “Dr. Smooth” Brantley came into his own last year finishing 3rd in MVP voting and hitting .327 with only 56 Ks in 676 plate appearances. He’ll be a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate for year to come. For Blue Jays fans there is Mr. Scrabble himself Marc Rzepczynski…just for the nostalgia of him being a Jay for a while…his 6.75 ERA says it might be good we let him go.

So who else do I find intriguing? Cody Allen.

He has had a horrible start to the season with a .406 BAA and an ERA over 11,but he came into his own last year and owned the closer role. He is a key cog in the pitching machine that is the Tribe and if he rights himself it will help settle down the bullpen issues and hopefully will help things run more smoothly.