Blue Jays AL East Recap: Jays soaring out of August

Red Sox right in the mix
Boston Red Sox: 72-58

The Boston Red Sox played hard in an attempt to keep pace with the Blue Jays. The Red Sox sit 2.0 games back in the AL East after a disappointing week.

Entering the week, the Red Sox were just a half game behind the Blue Jays. After splitting a four-game set against the Rays they let their weekend series against the Royals get away from them. Tampa Bay held Boston’s normally explosive offence in check. Boston’s run output against the Rays was just two runs a game. This continued into the weekend as the Red Sox were outscored by the Royals 19-15.

One glaring point of weakness for the Red Sox this week was their bullpen. The normally dominant Boston bullpen failed to pick up the rotation. These struggles were as pronounced as ever on Sunday nights as Matt Barnes and Junichi Tazawa were hammered by the Royals in the 6th.

The poor week for the bullpen was overshadowed by a decent week from the rotation. Boston’s rotation was stronger than the records would suggest. The Red Sox will hope to bounce back as they get a rematch with the Rays.

Final Takeaway:

With Toronto and Baltimore duelling to start the week, the Red Sox will look to take advantage of the Rays and gain ground as they push to reclaim first. It was a down week offensively, but don’t expect that to be the case this time around.

Next: Orioles continue to slide, drop three back