Blue Jays AL East Recap: Don’t Count Them Out Yet

Blue Jays win key division series, keeping them in the mix

Each week, Jays Journal will take a look at the bigger picture of the AL East to help frame not only where the Blue Jays are in the standings, but why they are there.

Boston Red Sox: 30-20
Baltimore orioles 28-20
Toronto Blue Jays: 26-26
New York Yankees: 24-25
Tampa Bay Rays: 22-26

Though the Blue Jays didn’t see any late game heroics to save their 5-3 loss on Sunday and secure the sweep, the Blue Jays won the series against both the Yankees and the Red Sox paving the way back to a .500 record.

These were big series’ for the Blue Jays, who won’t play out of division for another two sets (both against the Yankees and Red Sox again). With a tough division like the AL East a win is a win, and the Jays will take all four they got this week.

Despite losing Tory Tulowitzki late in the week to the Disabled List, the Blue Jays saw offensive production from the usual bunch and got a stellar week from the struggling Russell Martin. The call-up of Devon Travis also had an immediate impact, despite not batting leadoff.

The bullpen was better, holding some key games long enough for the offence to bring them back. The rotation struggled late in the week against Boston, which can be considered more of an outlier against a strong lineup than actual regression.

Final Takeaway:

The Blue Jays will look to continue their recent success against the exact same foes this week. If the Blue Jays can continue to hang tough against the Yankees and Red Sox, they can entrench themselves in the middle of the pack, poised to strike during a hot streak.

Next: Sox mash their way to sole posession of First

Boston enjoying view from the top

Boston Red Sox: 30-20

Despite losing their weekend series to the Jays, the Red Sox enter June with sole control of the AL East. The Red Sox offence doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, getting production from every member of their starting nine and sitting near the top of the league in the majority of offensive categories.

With increased productivity from their starting rotation, the Red Sox remain every bit as imposing. Before narrowly losing to the Jays, the Red Sox took advantage of Colorado’s pitching staff, belting out 20 runs in three games.

The Red Sox saw a down week from a normally airtight bullpen, but that was mitigated by the powerful offence that Boston has found. Like the Blue Jays, the Red Sox don’t see out of division competition for quite some time, with eight games against Baltimore in the next two weeks. They’ll look to break away from the competition in that time period.

Final Takeaway:

The Red Sox have a fight ahead of them, but with their powerful offence and productive rotation and bullpen, they are well equipped to solidify the lead in the AL East.

Next: Orioles Looking Up for First Time

Yankees keep momentum; keep pace.

New York Yankees: 24-25

The Yankees continue to erase any sign of their early May woes.

Their starting pitching has undergone a somewhat astonishing resurgence, backing support by a consistently steady offence. With aide from the best bullpen in baseball, the Yankees will hope to prey on division foes to edge their way into the picture.

The Yankees will also look to fare a bit better against their division foes this week, after falling from third place with losses to the Blue Jays and Rays. Their normally strong bullpen saw some surprising issues this week, which the Yankees will hope are not repeated. They will look to erase Toronto’s thin hold on third this week at Rogers Centre.

Final Takeaway:

The Yankees have made significant ground over the last two weeks, but they will need to hit a hot streak if they want to play for any more than third in the AL East.

Next: Rays Regress Again

Rays slide further out of the picture

Tampa Bay Rays: 22-26

The Rays continued to be plagued by inconsistencies, an unreliable starting rotation, and an on-again-off-again offence.

After losing three of four to the Marlins, they followed suite by coughing up the series against the Yankees to end the week, marring Jake Odorizzi’s strong start on Sunday afternoon. The Rays still have not hit the right stride of offensive power and rotation dominance to propel them past being the middling team they are currently.

They Rays have the AL Central to look forward too, ending the week playing a four-game set against the lowly Twins. They will hope to find some consistencies on the road. The Rays will hope for the quick return of Logan Forsythe and Kevin Kiermaier to help handle offensive and defensive woes. Their rotation will also be searching find the strength that it has shown all too infrequently this season.

Next: Saunders is Smashing Lefties

Final Takeaway:

The Rays will look to make advancements as the rest of the AL East duke it out against each other. They’ve shown with consistency, they can be amazing. This’d be a prime week to find it.