Blue Jays AL East Recap: Jays Still Can’t Land at .500

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: 37-23
Boston Red Sox 34-28
Tampa Bay Rays: 34-32
Baltimore Orioles: 31-30
Toronto Blue Jays: 31-32

The Blue Jays didn’t fare as well as hoped on their week-long road trip. They ended the week 3-3 Losing the series to the Athletics before stopping the Mariners this weekend. On the season, they are still one game below .500. The same position they stood this time last week. Toronto now sits 7.5 back of the Yankees for first, but remain within 2 games of a Wild Card spot. Josh Donaldson put up a show this week. Seemingly determined to erase his month-long absence from the record books. Strong starts from Marcus Stroman and J.A. Happ helped stop a strong Seattle this weekend. A strong bullpen also helped keep the Blue Jays in many games. Roberto Osuna has erased any doubts from his early season woes.

The likes of Ryan Tepera and Aaron Loup have also been surprisingly strong. They, combined with Joe Smith and Danny Barnes, have formed a solid rotation core that the Blue Jays haven’t seen in years. The Blue Jays have been silent on what ails Russell Martin. Martin was in and out of the lineup all week. Devon Travis is on the DL, and all indication points to him being there for a while. Ryan Goins has performed admirably so far, but can’t replace the production of Travis. Both Goins and Carrera have performed well, but don’t profile as everyday players. The Blue Jays could look to add at both positions if they intend to keep chasing contention. Toronto has an abbreviated week, playing the Rays and White Sox at home.

Final Takeaway:

The Blue Jays are still fighting for a winning record. They are approaching a do or die stretch in the coming weeks, making every game a must win.

Yankees Dominate the East
37-23

New York kicked things into gear. After losing to the Red Sox to start the week, they wouldn’t do so again. They now have a tidy 4 game lead over the Boston for first place. After lighting up Rick Porcello and David Price, they would dismantle the Orioles. New York’s offense combined for 38 runs across the three game set, only letting up 8. Aaron Judge continues to be a force to be reckoned and leading the charge offensively. Judge still leads MLB with 21 home runs and has now blasted the longest one of the season. For good measure. Starlin Castro and Gary Sanchez also jumped on the Orioles this weekend.

The Yankees rotation has been effective, supporting the team long enough for the vaunted offense to put the game out of reach. The bullpen has been effective too, but that’s easy to do with the run differential they get to work with. After a disappointing week last week, strong showings against two of the top dogs of the East has established New York as the legitimate leader of the AL East. Likely putting the title out of reach for those ones at the bottom. The Yankees will get to terrify the pitchers of the West, as they play the Athletics and Angels this week.

Final Takeaway:

The Yankees have been a fun team to watch and will continue to be if their young stars put up gaudy numbers like they did this week. Lately, New York is looking like the 2016 Cubs 2.0

Boston Misses Big Chance
34-28

The Boston Red Sox remain second in the division, after dropping the opening set to the Yankees. They managed to edge out Masahiro Tanaka to start the week, but New York shelled Porcello and Price to end the series. The Red Sox now sit 4 games out of first but remain the top dog overall in the Wild Card race. Boston has been getting production up and down the lineup offensively. Chris Sale has been unrelenting on opposing batters and has been pulling most of the weight in the rotation. Drew Pomeranz remains hit and miss, and Rick Porcello has looked nothing like the 2016 version. David Price will likely help the rotation stabilize, but did not do so this week.

Team Captain Dustin Pedroia is finally off the DL, while Eduardo Rodriguez is progressing as projected. Pablo Sandoval has been sitting out, trying to avoid a stint to on the list as well. The Red Sox will get another test this week. After an Away and Home stint against the Phillies to start the week, they will play the titans of the West. The Astros have looked as strong as the Yankees this year and could be a challenge even for Sale.

Final Takeaway:

The Red Sox have finally taken full form. They’ll need some more success from their rotation to help keep pace with their excellent offense. If they can, they can contend with the Yankees at the top.

Eastbound and Down
31-30

The Orioles continued to fall further this week, as their season is quickly unwinding. At one point the Orioles were among the dominant division leaders, but have since fallen from first to fourth. They now sit 6.5 games outside of first and only one game above .500. They started the week off well enough, sweeping the Pirates in two games. That is where things started to unwind. They lost a pickup game against the Nationals and then were demolished by the Yankees. They managed just 8 runs in the series, but let up 38 in the three-game set. Chris Tillman has been ineffective in his return and hasn’t been the ace for a rotation that really needs one. The poor performances by their rotation arm have put a strain on their rotation already without their ace closer.

Things only got worse off the field. Darren O’Day has landed on the DL making a taxed rotation that much worse. Star third baseman Manny Machado is also day to day. Baltimore will need him back in the lineup as soon as possible as their once dominant offense has been very quiet as of late. They get a 4 game set in Chicago against the White Sox, before hosting the Cardinals to start the week. Hopefully, some time away from AL East Competition will do them some good.

Final Takeaway:

The Orioles are not looking much like themselves lately. As the rest of the division has looked lively, they have looked lost. They could quickly wind south of .500 if their rotation and bats continue to underwhelm.

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