Blue Jays AL East Recap: Signs of Life

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

Baltimore Orioles: 12-5

New York Yankees: 11-7

Boston Red Sox: 11-8

Tampa Bay Rays: 10-10

Toronto Blue Jays: 5-13

The Blue Jays saw many positives amidst an effort to find their footing in the American League East. Toronto more than doubled its season win total and improved to 5-13 on the season. While the Jays are guaranteed to have a losing April record, they have much to celebrate. First would be the Jays offense. It finally appears to be kicking off the rust. Blue Jays batter’s combined to score 29 runs over 6 games this week. That is more than double the total from the second week (14) and more than they scored During the period they went 2-10. In this 6 game period, the Blue Jays finally had a week of .500 baseball. Both Jose Bautista and Devon Travis hit their first homers (both in timely situations). The offensive hero of the week was undoubtedly Kevin Pillar. He carries the hottest stick on the team, and an 11 game hitting streak.

The Blue Jays saw this productivity while dealing with another set of troubles. Mat Latos and Casey Lawrence made their underwhelming debuts. Both are likely to get another start or two as J.A. Happ saw a setback in his recovery. The Blue Jays lost another veteran to the disabled list as well. Troy Tulowitzki suffered a hamstring injury in a late win Friday Night. With Josh Donaldson on the shelf, the Jays will be forced to play with an infield of Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney. Not the worst pair on the field, but far from the production of the veterans.

Final Takeaway:

The Blue Jays will hope to see more of this production as they wrap up a road trip against the heart of the St. Louis rotation. Toronto also figures to miss out on some time from Kendrys Morales, as they will be without their designated hitter.