Series Preview: Blue Jays Head to New York with Season on the Line

Sep 8, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher R.A. Dickey (43) pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Game 4: R.A. Dickey (10-10, 4.01 ERA) vs Masahiro Tanaka (11-6, 3,57 ERA)

Dickey has earned the respect he deserved to have when he first got here. He has truly commanded the attention of the other side by pitching the way he did when he won the Cy Young in 2012. The Jays have won his past ten starts and not because of the vaunted offense. It is because Dickey has been the pitcher the Blue Jays expected him to be when they traded future ace Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud. Against the Yankees he has given up only 3 earned runs in three starts.  He is locked in for September with 2 wins, an ERA of  1.20 and a WHIP of a ridiculous 0.60. Those are numbers an ace would have.

Tanaka hasn’t been lights out for the Yankees but he is the best of what is an uneven Yankees rotation. He is as good before the all-star break as after and just keeps giving solid innings. His WHIP is a killer 1.01 ERA and he struck out 10 Orioles in his last start. He has proven to be a gamer and a bulldog who is able to eat up innings. His BAA against is a decent .222  and his K:BB is almost 5:1. He has pitched OK against the Blue Jays and has given up his fair share of home runs overall (22) so it is tough to see which way he is going to go.