Blue Jays AL East Recap: Blue Jays Continue to Soar

Blue Jays Narrow the gap in the AL East

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.

Baltimore Orioles: 32-23
Boston Red Sox: 33-24
Toronto Blue Jays: 31-27
New York Yankees: 26-30
Tampa Bay Rays: 25-30

It was another brilliant week for the Blue Jays as they dominated the Yankees for their first sweep of the season. They then secured their 5th consecutive series win by hanging on to beat the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon.

They Jays have now edged themselves within 2.5 games of the lead in the AL East and are four games above .500 for the first time this season.

It was a week of consistency on all ends of the spectrum. The Blue Jays strong rotation delivered multiple times, the offence provided no less than four runs per game, and the bullpen (boosted by newly acquired Jason Grilli) held on in multiple games. It finally appears that the Jays have turned the corner and worked out their offensive woes. Only time will tell if the Blue Jays ‘pen has also begun turning that corner.

Final Takeaway:
Just two weeks after landing at the bottom of the AL East, the Blue Jays capitalized on four straight series wins against division foes, firmly entrenching themselves in the battle for the Division title.

With the Blue Jays surging, let’s take a look at the division around them…

Next: Orioles Hang Tight with Boston

O’s Maintain Pace with the Boston

Baltimore Orioles: 32-23

The Orioles split a key four-game series with the Red Sox to open the week and won their weekend series against the Yankees.

After being stifled for the first two games of the week, the Orioles offence exploded. Hitting numbers we have grown accustomed to seeing, the Orioles were able to keep pace with the Red Sox for first place.

This offensive resurgence bailed out a poor week for the Orioles’ rotation, that even saw staff ace Chris Tillman suffer. Fortunately the strong Baltimore ‘pen continued to hang tough to back the powerful offence.

Adam Jones made Baltimore history by surpassing Cal Ripken Jr. as all time RBI leader at Camden Yards. The Orioles will look to stay strong as they continue to battle for the position they have held all season. They host the Royals before heading to Toronto this week.

Final Takeaway:

The Orioles have gotten going just as the going has gotten tough, and with the Jays now fighting for contention, Baltimore will look to stay hot.

Next: Red Sox Hold On

Red Sox Keep Pace Despite Struggles

Boston Red Sox: 33-24

The Boston Red Sox continue to be one of the best teams in baseball, despite dropping four games to division foes this week.

They split a key four-game series with the Orioles to begin the week. Boston then battled the Blue Jays and came up just short, dropping a second series in a row against Toronto. The Red Sox hitting was on full display and although Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. saw their hitting streaks end, Dustin Pedroia extended his to 13 on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Sox continue to hang tough as long as their tough-as-nails batting order continues to churn out runs. The Red Sox will look for a rebound from both their rotation and their bullpen, as both saw setbacks this week.

Final Takeaway:

Red Sox fall short despite battling all week, but will fight hard to keep hold of first place.

Next: Yankees Fall Short Against Division Foes

Yankees Stumble at Wrong Moment

New York Yankees: 26-30

After digging themselves out of the hole they fell into early May, the Yankees struggled to gain ground against division foes this week.

They first got swept by the Jays in Toronto, and then couldn’t hold on long enough to secure a series win against the Orioles in Baltimore. There only other win came in a pick up game against the Tigers on Thursday.

New York’s offence managed only an average of three runs per game, and missed multiple opportunities to get ahead.

The most troubling aspect of the week was the weak showing from the Yankees normally ironclad pen. Both Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman struggled, blowing late leads. This fell on a week where their starting rotation struggled to stay in the game late. Betances lost two games this week, which is definitely a concern for New York given how heavily they are expected to rely on that back end.

Final Takeaway:

The Yankees are trending in the wrong direction at the wrong time. With the Blue Jays soaring and the Red Sox and Orioles battling for first, the Yankees failed to make any ground in the division.

Next: Rays Still Can't Find Consistency