A.L. East Review: Blue Jays pick up ground while Rays get dealt a tough hand

May 6, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Ryan Goins (17) makes the throw to first for a fielder

Outside of a few teams, baseball as a whole has had a rough start to the 2015 MLB season. With nearly every team team taking a few punches to begin the year, only 13 of the 30 enter play on the second Sunday in May with a winning record.

In no other division in baseball is that more evident than it is in the American League East.

Pitching has been the biggest culprit in holding down what was once baseball’s toughest division. Through May 9th, the A.L. East has cumulative ERA of 4.10. Compared to the 3.96 cumulative ERA for all 30 teams, and it is easy to see how far below the curve the pitching has truly been.

That said, it is still early in May and the historically high run production against American League East pitching staffs can’t possibly continue into the summer. Changes will be made, players will improve, and luck will undoubtedly change. Already, we are starting to see some of that happen within the division, with four of the five teams playing at .500 or better over the last 10 days. And with only 5.5. games separating first place from last, there is a legitimate chance that any of these teams could turn it around at any time.

So how have the teams in the American League East stacked up over the last week?

Next: First place in a New York Minute

Apr 29, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Drew Smyly (33) reacts after giving up a home run against the New York Yankees during the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

• Tampa Bay Rays
• Overall Record: 17-14
• Last Seven: 4-3

It has been amazing thus far how the Tampa Bay Rays have exceeded expectations this season. For a team that was facing a tough couple of months to start the year, Tampa has come out swinging and currently sits just two games out of first place.

However, a lot of that could have been the push to get themselves to the point where their pitching staff was fully healthy again. With Alex Cobb, Jake McGee, and Matt Moore all on the disabled list for the first few months, the team just wanted to tread water until they were at full strength.  That’s led to players like Jake Odorizzi, Nate Karns, and Brad Boxberger stepping up to fill holes.

Unfortunately, the Rays were dealt a pair of big blows this past week. Cobb, who was shut-down from his rehab work, will now undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery and will not return until May 2016. Meanwhile Drew Smyly, who made just 3 starts for the Rays this season, will also see his season end due to a labrum tear in his pitching shoulder.

That’s a lot to overcome for a Rays pitching staff that was already short-handed. In a division where pitching is going to separate the top dogs from the also-rans, that may be a tough handicap to overcome for Tampa Bay as we get into the dog days of summer.

Next: Things looking up North of the Border

May 8, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin (55) slides into home to score on a two run single by Ezequiel Carrera (not pictured) in the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre. Toronto defeated Boston 7-0. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

• Toronto Blue Jays
• Overall Record: 16-15
• Last Seven: 5-2

The Blue Jays finally returned to the land of winning records thanks to a week that the team won five of its 7 games. While that hasn’t gained them much ground on the Yankees, it has kept them just three games behind New York in the A.L. East.

One cannot talk about the last week of Blue Jays play without paying homage to the performance from Russell Martin. The Jays’ catcher went off this past week, going 12 for 22 (.545) with 3 home runs, 5 RBI, and 7 runs scored.

However, the subject of this week’s post isn’t the hitting proficiency of baseball’s top scoring offense. No, we’re talking pitching, and the Blue Jays certainly made some strides in that regard. Of course, it helps when fourteen different pitchers took the ball for the Jays this week, but overall the Toronto pitching staff allowed just 21 earned runs over 62 innings of work (3.02 ERA).

Overall, the rotation saw some quality starts from Mark Buehrle, R.A. Dickey, and Aaron Sanchez. However, there is still some heavy concern with the performance of Drew Hutchison. Hutch was lit up in two outings over the last seven games, allowing 15 hits and 7 earned runs over just 9.1 innings of work. He was much better on Saturday against Boston, but his inconsistency is still a concern for a team looking for someone to step up and become the ace of the staff.

Next: What happened to Chris Tillman?

Apr 23, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Bud Norris (25) catches a ball in front of a scoreboard image of pitcher Chris Tillman (not pictured) at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

• Baltimore Orioles
• Overall Record: 13-15
• Last Seven: 3-4

There is no doubting that the Baltimore Orioles are in a good place in terms of being a solid hitting unit. However, like the rest of the American League East, their pitching leaves much to be desired. And the bullpen isn’t the source of the problem.

Outside of Wei-Yin Chen, the Orioles have struggled to get consistent starts out of any of the other four arms in the rotation. That was tremendously present over the last seven games. Chen gave Baltimore two solid starts, allowing 3 earned runs over 13 innings of work. Baltimore also got an atypically strong start from Bud Norris.

However, the chief concern for the Orioles staff at this stage has to be ace Chris Tillman. Entering his second year of arbitration eligibility, Tillman and the Orioles have been working on a long-term extension and perhaps that is proving to be more of a distraction that desired. In six starts, Tillman has managed just 31.2 innings of work, allowing 35 hits, 22 runs (all earned), and is walking batters at a 5.1 BB/9 clip.

If the Orioles want to contend in the A.L. East, Tillman is going to need to be the guy to lead the staff. If he can’t, it could be a long season in Baltimore.

Next: The Red Sox need to pull an ace

May 5, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello (22) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

• Boston Red Sox
• Overall Record: 13-17
• Last Seven: 1-6

The Boston Red Sox spent a lot of money this past winter while also being one of the most active teams on the trade front. All said, the Red Sox entered the season feeling like they had drastically improved a team that finished last in 2014. Of course, things always look great on paper in the winter, but that doesn’t guarantee that they’ll work out perfectly during the season.

While losing out on Jon Lester, the Red Sox were unfortunately forced to enter the season with a pitching staff without a true ace. That’s been clear and present throughout the first month-plus, as the Boston rotation has been the worst in baseball. Without that stopper to set things back up, the Red Sox have been unable to pull out of a tailspin that has seen Boston go 4-12 since it last won two games in a row.

Of the five Red Sox starters, only Rick Porcello sports an ERA under 5.18, and he’s also the only Boston starter to average better than six innings per outing. The other four starters have combined to put up a cumulative ERA of 6.19 and the group has a record of 5-11 over 24 combined starts.

If there is any team in the division that desperately needs to make a move to shore up its rotation in the coming month, it is the Boston Red Sox. With the resources to get an ace on the trade market, Boston needs to be less gun shy and grab the opportunity before their season slips away.

Next: Blue Jays send Saunders to the DL, Tolleson rejoins team

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