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Blue Jays Morning Brew: It’s time for THE series

By Keegan Matheson |

The Blue Jays will be thrilled to get out of Boston after dropping two of three to the Red Sox, but there is no time to rest. Beginning tonight in New York is the biggest series in many, many years for the Toronto Blue Jays. Four games in the Bronx with a 1.5 game lead over the Yankees in the American League East. To help calm your nerves on this big day, enjoy the latest Blue Jays news and stories in the Morning Brew!

Price casts his vote  –  David Price is a Mike Trout fan, but as he tells Scott Lewis of Sportsnet, his American League MVP vote goes to Josh Donaldson by a wide margin. “He’s (Donaldson) the clear-cut MVP right now. If the season ends today it’s a landslide and he’s the MVP.”

Price also shed some light on how he’ll approach his critical start in New York on Thursday, and the changeup that he’ll lean on for success. “The changeup is the equalizer. If you can throw a changeup, you can pitch in Major League Baseball. It’s made pitching a lot easier for me. Throwing my changeup and developing my changeup the way that I have has definitely made pitching a lot easier.” Price notes that his changeup only entered his repertoire full-time in 2013, but it’s quickly become a trademark.

Stroman’s second father  –  A good look from the Toronto Sun’s Mike Rustsey here at the unique dynamic that has formed between Marcus Stroman and veteran Mark Buehrle. “Me and Buehrle couldn’t be any tighter than we are,” Stroman tells Rutsey. “I have an incredible amount of love for him. I assume he has an incredible amount of love for me.

This is a feel-good story, but could become bittersweet down the stretch. Should Buehrle continue to require extra rest or struggle during his outings, Stroman could be the main benefactor. It must be frustrating for Buehrle to notice his body slowing down after an ironman career, but perhaps seeing Stroman benefit from the opportunity will ease the sting.

“We hang out on and off the field, I’m always around him. I’ve been talking to him throughout this whole process but there’s no tension at all. We are as close as it can get. I am like his son.”

Pitcher-catcher splits  –  Some interesting statistics here from Daniel McIlroy of Batter’s Box, detailing the performance of Toronto’s starters based on the catcher they’ve worked with. Some of the noticeably splits are R.A. Dickey performing better with Russell Martin than he does with Josh Thole (a 3.51 ERA compared to 5.08) and Mark Buehrle performing better with Dioner Navarro than Martin (2.62 ERA compared to 4.22).

Next: Are stadium upgrades enough for the Rogers Centre?

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