Series Preview: Blue Jays Have Rangers in Their Crosshairs

Aug 23, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Ben Revere (7) celebrates with his team after running in a score against the Los Angeles Angels during the second inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Toronto Blue Jays

It has been one interesting road trip so far. Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey finally faltered a bit for the first time in forever but the offense stood up once again to take down their opponents. If after 5 games of this 8 game road trip you were to point to the game they for sure would have lost I am quite right in saying most of Blue Jays land would have pegged that loss to come in Philly and not Los Angeles. No Matter.  5-1 already guarantees a winning road trip but that’s not good enough anymore.

Between the bashing of Edwin Encarnacion ( .407/.457/.797 in August and riding a 23 game on base streak), the mashing of Josh Donaldson (.342/.429/.776 in August with 9 home runs) and the thrashing of Jose Bautista (.293 BA with a 1.004 OPS) the offense is clicking as well as it has all season. The pitching has a 2.75 ERA in August which is second in the AL only to the Houston Astros and amazingly the staff ERA is 5th(!) in the AL for the season. Remember when they were only ahead of only those pesky Red Sox for much of the first half? Seems like so very long ago. This is what they are bringing to the Lone Star State and the home of the Texas Rangers.

Next: Across the Diamond

Aug 23, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Texas Rangers designated hitter Mike Napoli (25) receives congratulations from Rougned Odor (12) after he hits a home run in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Across the Diamond: Texas Rangers

Toronto Blue Jays

The Rangers were on the periphery for much of the season. There were times it looked like they were going to barrel their way up to meet their state rivals on top of the AL West. But injuries to a few key players kept them hovering around and now they find themselves still up for a playoff spot but more so on the Wild Card side. After a year off from injury Prince Fielder is back on top of his game (.320/.385/.483) and carrying the offense along with Rougned Odor who is having a very nice sophmore season (.276/.330/.464).

The pitching is generally what has kept the Rangers in contention. Yovani Gallardo(3.25 ERA) has been the best of a decent enough rotation that still hurts from the loss of Yu Darvish. Cole Hamels has been OK, but not the lights out starter that they envisioned him to be (4.73 ERA in 4 starts) and Derek Holland has been pretty good in his 2 starts since coming back from injury (3.68 ERA). Unfortunately for the Rangers their home stadium in Arlington is a pitchers nightmare at times and considering how the Blue Jays are settling in to their role of beating down every opponent with their bats it could be a long 3 games…..hee hee hee.

Next: Game 1: Buehrle vs Holland

Aug 13, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Mark Buehrle (56) delivers a pitch against Oakland Athletics at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1: Mark Buehrle (13-5, 3.45 ERA)  vs Derek Holland (1-1, 3.68 ERA)

For the first time since May 1, Buehrle didn’t go at least 5 innings as he gave up a 4 spot to the Phillies in four innings of the Blue Jays eventual win. It’s nice in a way to see that Buehrle is fallible and not the super human, slow pitching, corner nibblin’ sunuvagun that he appears to be. Buehrle is not one to take such an outing lightly. There are a few guys in the other dugout who have given Buehrle fits over the years: Adrain Beltre (.381 BA), Shin-Soo Choo (.370 BA) and Mike Napoli (.313 BA). He will have to be on his A game to get through these guys but he has the vet savvy to tackle what comes his way.

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Holland is coming off some nasty shoulder strain and will be making his 3rd start of the season and has done reasonably well so far. He has been a steady force in the rotation before and there is no reason to think he has lost it completely. With an OPS of .823 against lefties though, the Blue Jays could definitely lay a thumping on the still a bit rusty Holland…and to make things a little worse, Josh Donaldson owns a .333 BA career against him. Better hold on tight Derek!

Next: Game 2: Price vs Lewis

Aug 21, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher David Price (14) pitches against the Los Angeles Angels during the third inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2: David Price (12-4, 2.40 ERA) vs Colby Lewis (14-5, 4.29 ERA)

Betsided

There is not much to say about David Price other than the fact he has been every bit the dominant force he was hoped to be when the Blue Jays gave up some pretty impressive arms for him at the trade deadline. Since joining the Blue Jays, Price has an ERA of 1.78, an opponents BAA of .202 and a WHIP of 0.96. Exactly the type of ace the team has been wanting for oh so very long. His ERA is 2.31 on grass and he has thrown almost 70% of his pitches for strikes in 2015. There isn’t much more to say. Price is a force to be reckoned with and he has about 10 more starts to guide the Blue Jays to the promised land of October baseball.

Colby Lewis is a stalwart in the Rangers rotation. He has topped 200 innings pitched but not since 2011 and he has been cast in the role of back end starter for much of his tenure in Texas. It seems every 5 or so starts he gets his…ummm…ball handed to him. At the beginning of August against Houston he gave up 7 earned and at the beginning of July against the Angels he gave up 10 (!) earned. He will never be a top of the rotation guy if he does that for 5 starts every season so cross your fingers if you are a Rangers fan because you never know what might be coming from Mr. Lewis.

Next: Game 3: Estrada vs Gallardo

August 22, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marco Estrada (25) pitches the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Game 3: Marco Estrada (11-7, 3.27 ERA) vs Yovani Gallardo (10-9, 3.25 ERA)

Estrada is pitching like an ace. He is racking up numbers that nobody saw coming. There is nothing in his pedigree that suggested he was going to be a bona fide break out star here in Toronto and yet that is exactly what is unfolding. It seems no one truly wants to believe what is happening but the numbers don’t lie. Here is a small sample. In his last 7 starts his ERA is 2.76 and his WHIP is 0.90.  With a career ERA of 4.04 and a career WHIP of 1.17 you can see how the doubters were given a longer leash. I don’t see many doubters anymore…heck his BAA of .210 is fourth best in the league. YOWZA!

Too bad for Estrada he is paired up against the best pitcher on the Rangers in Gallardo. Last time he faced the Jays on June 27 in Toronto he went 8 1/3 with no runs and just 3 hits allowed. He has had a few games where he lost it a bit but no pitcher is ever perfect 34 games out of the year. Gallardo has a running fastball that bites and his off-speed stuff is a step above what it has been in years past. It seems 2015 is the year he has been able to put it all together and become the front end starter he was envisioned to be when he was drafted in the 2nd round out of high school by the Miwaukee Brewers. With him , Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish at the front of this rotation in 2016 the Rangers are a hitter or 2 away from wrestling the AL West away from the Astros.

Next: Who Ya Got?