Blue Jays AL East Recap: Jays soar into All-Star break

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: 51-36
Boston Red Sox: 49-38
Toronto Blue Jays: 51-40
New York Yankees: 44-44
Tampa Bay Rays: 34-54

The Blue Jays entered the All-Star break on a high note after winning 6 of 7 games in the final week of the season’s first half. After sweeping the Royals, the Blue Jays came up with a series win against the Tigers in four games.

Over the course of the past week the Blue Jays saw solid offensive and defensive contributions from the entire team. Their starting pitching was as excellent as ever despite missing Marco Estrada at the beginning of the week.

One of the biggest revelations of late has been the bullpen. Since the nightmare 19-game marathon with the Indians the Blue Jays ‘pen has looked completely different. Solid production from Jesse Chavez, Bo Schultz, and Jason Grilli have helped turn the bullpen into a competent force, capable of holding on and winning games.

The Blue Jays will enter play after the All Star Game very much in the thick of it. They currently stand tied with the Boston Red Sox for second place in the division, and only two games behind the division leading Orioles. The Blue Jays needed to send a statement that they were here to stay, and they most certainly did that.

Toronto will also see Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Saunders, and Aaron Sanchez compete in the All-Star Game this week. Marco Estrada was voted in as well but will not participate.

Final Takeaway:

The Blue Jays remained every bit as relevant this week, proving they were more than capable of hanging tough with the division leaders. They enter the All-Star break as one of the hottest teams in baseball and will look to stay the course to start the second half.

Next: Orioles narrowly hold on