Blue Jays American League East Recap: Jays Taking Flight

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.

New York Yankees: 22-13
Baltimore Orioles: 22-14
Boston Red Sox: 19-18
Tampa Bay Rays: 19-21
Toronto Blue Jays: 17-21

The Toronto Blue Jays showed the Baseball world they are serious threats this week. They faced a pair of tough teams in the reigning AL Champion Cleveland Indians, and a surging Seattle Mariners team. Toronto took two of three from Cleveland in a hard fought series that saw the return of Edwin Encarnacion to Rogers Centre. They then took this momentum into a four game sweep of the Mariners during Mothers Day weekend. Their five game winning streak has the Blue Jays one game behind the Rays, two and a half behind the Red Sox, and six and a half from first. They’ll look to carry their momentum against the Atlanta Braves in a home/away split series.

The Blue Jays received contributions from all across the Diamond. Toronto’s pitching staff was able to limit an excellent Mariners offense to just five runs across 22 innings. The bullpen then allowed just one run across the remaining 14. Offense was found from most places on the team as well. Ryan Goins had a walk off single in the bottom of the ninth on Wednesday, Jose Bautista homered three times this week, and Kevin Pillar remained as hot as ever, hitting a walk off Home Run on Mothers Day while also taking over the AL hits leaderboard.

Final Takeaway:

The Blue Jays got Aaron Sanchez back from the DL and it looks like Troy Tulowitzki will return this week. With several others progressing, the Blue Jays could very quickly make run for contention.

Baltimore Struggles
22-14

Baltimore began the week with much promise as they took two of three from the powerful Washington Nationals. The Orioles squandered that momentum by getting swept by the Royals during the weekend. Despite this, a down week from the division leader keeps the Orioles primed for a chance to reclaim the top spot. They’ll need to do it quickly as the Red Sox, Rays, and Blue Jays are all knocking on the door. They’ll get their chance to quell the surging Jays this week after facing the Tigers.

The Orioles offense battled it out against the powerful Nationals and wound up on top. As has been the tradition this year, the Orioles have relied heavily on the long ball. Nine separate batters all belted at least one home run during the course of the week. While their offense was as powerful as always, it wasn’t quite good enough to bail out their arms. While their rotation was solid, their bullpen faltered at key points. Brad Brach has filled in well for injured Zach Britton, but he’s no replacement for the All Star.

Final Takeaway:

The Orioles squandered their momentum this week, but will seek the ability to crush that of the Jays to end the week. Division rivalries are always heated, it should be a fun weekend at the Skydome.

Boston Red Sox
19-18

Red Sox Can’t Cash In

The Boston Red Sox couldn’t cash in on the failures of the Yankees or Orioles. As the top brass in the East struggled, so did the Sox. They were clobbered by the Brewers in Milwaukee. Coming home for Mother’s Day weekend they looked to pick apart the weak Tampa Bay Rays. That didn’t quite come to fruition as the Red Sox dropped the series to Tampa. On the whole, the Red Sox managed just two wins on the week. The weekend loss to the Rays puts the Red Sox closer to the bottom of the division instead of the top.

Next: Is Smoak's 2017 sustainable?

The Red Sox were off as a whole this week. Their rotation struggled outside of Chris Sales‘ start on Saturday. Where their rotation was off, so was their offense. Normally capable of battering any foe, they fell flat. The Brewers bashed better than they did to start the week, and the Rays arms were generally able to corral the offense some are calling ‘the new stinging B’s’. The Sox look like they could use some reinforcements though. Hanley Ramirez reported for Action on Mother’s Day, with Pablo Sandoval beginning to travel with the club as well. David Price is eyeing a return too, and none to soon for Boston.

Final Takeaway:

The Red Sox will travel to St. Louis to take on a surging Cardinals team. They will hope for some more success in the National League.

Rays Fight Back
19-21

The Tampa Bay Rays overcame a series loss against the Royals by dispatching the Red Sox in Boston ending the week with a record of 3-4. The surprising Royals handled the Rays well, excluding a route against Jason Hammel on Wednesday. The Rays took this momentum to Boston and outscored them 19-12. They’ll take the heart of their rotation to Cleveland to face the Indians to start the week. After that, they host the East-leading Yankees in Tampa.

The Rays rotation came together at the end of the week and limited a strong Boston offense. Tampa’s bullpen is still a few arms short and once again faced problems late. Fortunately for Tampa, their offense was on point this week. After demolishing Jason Hammel, the offense disposed of CY Young Rick Porcello Friday, and decimated Boston’s bullpen in the finale with a 7 run, 9th inning. Despite the loss on Saturday, the Rays offense even managed to homer off of Chris Sale. If their offense can work in tandem with their rotation, the Rays can pounce on the division leaders.

Final Takeaway:

The Rays saw more consistencies in a week where most of the East was hammered. If their relief corps can get back to lend a hand, the Rays could be poised to make a run.

Next: Blue Jays: Is Justin Smoak's early success sustainable?