Blue Jays face Giants in Interleague clash: Full series preview

Game 1:  Monday, May 9th  –  10:15 p.m.

Aaron Sanchez (2-1, 2.82 ERA)  vs.
Jake Peavy (1-3, 9.00 ERA)

No longer the pitcher of his San Diego Padres days, the 34-year-old Peavy has gotten off to an awfully rough start in 2016 with the Giants. In his first six games of the season, Peavy has allowed four or more runs five different times.

His last two starts have been especially difficult. On April 29th against the New York Mets, Peavy allowed six runs in just two innings of work as his control completely abandoned him (five walks). Last time out against the Cincinnati Reds, he allowed seven earned runs on eight hits over six innings pitched, but did manage an 8:1 K:BB rate.

Much of this can be traced to his velocity, which has taken a dip across the board through the first month of the season.

Peavy’s fastball is averaging 88.7 MPH, down from 90.1 MPH last year with the Giants. Peavy will throw a four-seamer, two-seamer, and cutter. He’s also been struggling to find success with his curveball, a pitch he’s thrown 15.6% of the time.

Sanchez, on the other hand, is coming off another very strong outing for the Blue Jays. It was a critical start for the young right-hander, too, because he made things work without having his best stuff.

Over seven innings against the Texas Rangers, Sanchez allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out five. That came after a seven-inning shutout against the Tampa Bay Rays, distancing Sanchez from his rough outing against Oakland.

Across his entire major league and minor league career, Sanchez has yet to take an at-bat. Perhaps those long arms will give him some added plate coverage versus Peavy…

Next: Game 2 Preview: 4-0 Happ versus the 0-4 Cain

Game 2: Tuesday, May 10th  –  10:15 p.m.

J.A. Happ (4-0, 2.50 ERA) vs.
Matt Cain (0-4, 7.84 ERA)

The undefeated Happ is set to face the winless Cain: what could go wrong?

Happ has been a revelation for the Blue Jays this season, carrying over his success from the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015. His three-year, $36 million contract is quickly becoming one of the more valuable moves from the past offseason.

His last time out against the Rangers, Happ threw seven strong innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits and striking out five batters.

His ability to work deep into ball games has been the most impressive part of Happ’s game. His 172.0 innings from last season represents a career high, but he’s thrown at least six innings in every start this season. In three of his last four starts, he’s made it a full seven.

With a long National League track-record, Happ has 16 hits in 215 plate appearances (.089 AVG). He did homer with the Houston Astros back in 2011, though, and has doubled twice!

Matt Cain counters for the Giants, and much like Peavy, he’ll be glad to see the first quarter of the season pass. After beginning the year with some uneven starts, his last two trips to the mound have been much more difficult.

The 31-year-old right-hander allowed six earned runs to the Rockies on May 5th, giving up 10 hits over four innings and failing to record a single strikeout. In his start prior on April 30th against the Mets, Cain allowed six earned once again, this time on seven hits across six innings.

Cain has already allowed six home runs this season, an unusually high number for him, though he also had an inflated home run rate in 2015. Opposing hitters have posted a .328 average off the career-long Giant as he’s struggled to strand base runners (55.8 LOB%).

Next: Game 3 Preview: Both sides save their best for last

Game 3: Wednesday, May 11th  –  3:45 p.m.

Marcus Stroman (4-0, 3.60 ERA) vs.
Madison Bumgarner (4-2, 3.14 ERA)

A great day to take the afternoon off work as the marquee matchup of the series is slated for a 3:45 p.m. start on Wednesday.

The Blue Jays will get a look at the great Madison Bumgarner, who’s off to another strong start in 2016. His last time out against the Colorado Rockies, Bumgarner struck out 10 batters while allowing three earned runs over seven and a third. In his prior outing, the lefty pitched six shutout innings against the Mets with seven strikeouts.

Bumgarner isn’t keeping the ball on the ground as much as he has in years past, but is doing a better job of forcing pop-ups and creating soft contact. His fastball velocity has dropped 1.5 MPH on average, but it doesn’t seem to be impacting his results on the mound just yet. His curveball, which he throws about 10% of the time, has dropped nearly 3.5 MPH.

What makes the 26-year-old even more dynamic is his ability with the bat. He’s won back-to-back Silver Slugger Awards with an OPS near .750 the past two seasons. That’s good enough to slot him into the lineup on his off-days.

Next: Should Biagini be stretched out to start in 2017?

Marcus Stroman continues to be a ground ball machine for the Blue Jays and has really settled into a groove these past two starts.

In his most recent outing against the Dodgers, Stroman lasted seven innings while allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out eight. He’s now gone a full eight innings three times in 2016, and has only had one outing go fewer than six and two-thirds innings.

Stroman doesn’t have a professional at-bat under his belt, but did hit .252 with Duke at the NCAA level. He’s no Bartolo Colon on the bases, either.