Blue Jays AL East Recap: Jays continue to hang tough

Blue Jays Continue to Defy Odds

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: 36-26
Boston Red Sox: 36-26
Toronto Blue Jays: 35-30
New York Yankees: 31-32
Tampa Bay Rays: 29-32

After dropping what would have been their sixth consecutive series win against the Tigers earlier in the week, the Blue Jays fought tooth and nail to win a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Blue Jays are now flying five games over .500 and enter play on Monday only 2.5 games behind the division leaders. While the bullpen and starting rotation struggled against both Detroit and the mighty Baltimore offence, the Blue Jays responded with offence of their own. They outscored the Orioles 30-24, mashing 21 runs between Saturday and Sunday.

It was not all sunshine for the Jays though, the rotation was tested as both J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez got hammered by Baltimore. The bullpen, despite it’s struggles, was surprisingly resilient, holding the lead against a late rally all three games this weekend.

Jose Bautista has missed three straight games and is expected to return to the lineup today as the designated hitter. His return will be key to the lineup, especially since Troy Tulowitzki’s timeline is now in question after experiencing a setback in his recovery. The Jays will play a home/road split series against the Phillies before facing the Orioles in a rematch at Camden Yards this upcoming weekend.

Final Takeaway:

The Blue Jays have managed to hang tough and win tough division contests. If they can secure wins against out of division opponents, the Jays could vie for the top spot in the East.

Next: Orioles hanging on to the top spot

Red Sox hold on to first
Boston Red Sox: 36-26

The Red Sox made the most of a week outside of the American League East, splitting a series against the Giants before taking two of three from Minnesota. The Red Sox offence was as sharp as ever, and Boston saw strong production from their rotation to compliment their powerful bullpen.

Despite still searching for a strong back end to their rotation, the Red Sox are hanging tight with the Orioles at the top of the division. As long as their offence is raking, and their bullpen is strong, the rotation will sort itself out.

David Ortiz was as strong as ever in his final set in Minnesota, but it was the young stars Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts that led the charge for Boston’s offence this weekend. They will look for contributions from everyone as they host the Orioles for a three game set this week. The two teams tied last time around, there will be no such luck this time.

Final Takeaway:

Despite struggles in the back end of the rotation, the talented bullpen and powerful offence have given the Red Sox rotation plenty of room to sort things out.

Next: Yankees propel themselves back towards the race

Yankees use 5 games to jump into the picture
New York Yankees: 31-32

The Yankees entered the week four games below .500 and just far enough out to not make an immediate threat to the top of the division. The Yankees ended the week just one game below .500, and as a threat to the division leaders.

New York pulled out all the tricks, using strong starting pitching, timely offensive bursts and their ironclad ‘pen to win five straight games this week. Despite losing their weekend series to the Tigers, the Yankees look poised to take a stab at the top half of the division. Trailing the third place Blue Jays by just three games, the Yankees will look to make the most of an appetizing June schedule.

Michael Pineda and CC Sabathia continued to roll this week, effectively shoring up a rag-tag rotation. Their consistencies have allowed the Yankees to stay in the mix in a parity-rich AL East. With their offence producing consistently, and their pen failing irregularly, the Yankees could take the division by storm at any moment.

Final Takeaway:

The Yankees play against the lowly Twins and the middling Rockies over the next two weeks, by July they could be closer to the top and looking down.

Next: Rays remain in the mix from the bottom

Scrappy Rays hit good stride
Tampa Bay Rays: 29-32

The Tampa Bay Rays look to have hit their stride. They finished the week winning their third consecutive series.

As their division rivals duked it out, the Rays were able to make quiet gains back into the picture. Finding a nice balance between consistent offence and excellent pitching outings, the Rays have once again shown signs of life. When they are consistent, they look like one of the most fearsome teams in baseball, and that was on display this week. After dispatching the Diamondbacks, the Rays fell just shy of sweeping the Astros.

Consistency has been the biggest issue for the Rays this year. Rarely have the rotation and offence able to support each other, yet as the Rays rotation looks ready to take it’s 2015 shape and as their bats hit like they have shown, the Rays remain a viable contender in a powerful division.

Next: Blue Jays Score With 66th Pick Bichette

Final Takeaway:

The big question facing the Rays is “if”. If the Rays can be consistent on offence and establish some rotation quality, they might just make a stab yet.