Blue Jays Morning Brew: Marcus Stroman returns

The Toronto Blue Jays took their time getting there last night, but a 5-1 win over the Boston Red Sox paired with a New York Yankees loss has them back atop the AL East by 1.5 games. Another strong outing by R.A. Dickey was followed by an excellent bullpen performance, with Troy Tulowitzki coming up in the clutch after many failed before him. So pull up a chair and enjoy the Blue Jays Morning Brew. There’s a series to win tonight, with Drew Hutchison taking on Joe Kelly.

Stroman in, Buehrle hurting  –  Manager John Gibbons announced Tuesday afternoon that, as expected, Marcus Stroman would get the nod on Saturday in New York. Mark Buehrle, on the other hand, received a cortisone shot in his throwing shoulder and is on track to start Tuesday in Atlanta. I’m curious to see how set-in-stone that Tuesday start is, though, given Buehrle’s recent struggles and health. 


2016 schedule released  –  The Blue Jays announced their schedule for 2016 in a press release on Tuesday. Toronto will open the season on April 4th on the road, where they’ll face the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. The Jays will then return home for a seven-game homestand featuring the Yankees and Red Sox, with the home opener coming against Boston on Friday, April 8th.

Toronto will host interleague games against the Los Angeles Dodgers (May 6-8), Philadelphia Phillies (June 13-14), Arizona Diamondbacks (June 21-22) and San Diego Padres (July 25-27). On the road, Blue Jays’ pitchers will grab the bats against the San Francisco Giants (May 9-11), Philadelphia Phillies (June 15-16), Colorado Rockies (August 27-29) and Arizona Diamondbacks (July 19-20).

More from Toronto Blue Jays News

• Blue Jays: Snapping cold streaks at the right time
• Who Should the Blue Jays Extend First: Guerrero, Bichette or Manoah?
• Blue Jays now hold the top Wild Card spot, and yes that’s a good thing
• Blue Jays may have the tools to use a Bullpen Day
• Blue Jays win important first game after Bichette’s late inning heroics

The Marathon Game  –  Sam Dykstra and Josh Jackson of MiLB.com take a look back at the July 31st contest between the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays and GCL Tigers. The game lasted a staggering 24 innings, and had to be completed on August 17th following a rainout. The Jays picked up the W with an inning that went as follows: “hit-by-pitch, hit-by-pitch, sac bunt, strikeout, strikeout, walk-off E7.” That has to sting!

Where is the love  –  An interesting point made by Sportsnet’s Bruce Dowbiggin in his Monday column. “While the Cardinals, Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers litter the schedule, Toronto has a grand total of zero ESPN Sunday nights or FOX Saturday afternoon appearances.”

There’s reasons for this, of course, with the American networks needing to maximize their potential audience nationwide. It remains an oddity, however, especially given the recent spike of intrigue among American baseball writers and media members. They’ve been tripping over themselves to write “Meet the Canada team” articles that read very oddly to a Jays fan, but the networks haven’t followed. Oh well, October is coming.

More from Jays Journal

• Blue Jays: Snapping cold streaks at the right time
• Who Should the Blue Jays Extend First: Guerrero, Bichette or Manoah?
• Blue Jays now hold the top Wild Card spot, and yes that’s a good thing
• Blue Jays may have the tools to use a Bullpen Day
• Blue Jays win important first game after Bichette’s late inning heroics