Blue Jays AL East Recap: Make or Break Time

New York Faces a Set Back
38-29

The New York Yankees will enter Monday in unfamiliar territory. While they are atop of the division, they now share that lead with the Boston Red Sox. The West was not kind to the Yankees, who have lost six straight. Despite winning on Monday against the Angels, they were not able to find success against them again. The weekend only brought more frustration as they were swept by the Athletics. The Yankees rotation proved just how ineffective it is without the help of Aaron Judge and the rest of their young offense bailing them out. The week put some heat on the bullpen, which also couldn’t come up with enough to compensate for the performance of the rotation.

Despite Aroldis Chapman returning from the DL, the Yankees have more injury to worry about. Adam Warren landed on the DL and Aaron Hicks has been day to day since Thursday night. Gary Sanchez seems to have recovered from whatever ailed him during the weekend, but is one to monitor in the coming days. The week not only allowed for the Red Sox to get their foot in the door, but has opened it for the entire division. Entering Monday, every team is within six games of first place, leaving the race wide open as the summer approaches.

Final Takeaway:

The Yankees are still a very good team, despite some disheartening losses this week. The real question is whether their young stars can keep producing through the rigors of the season.

Boston Finds First
39-30

The Red Sox won both of their series’ this week, including a come back win agianst the mighty Astros. Their successful week, combined with the struggles of New York, has given Boston a share of first place. Boston is now successfully above 500, where they had hovered at the first portion of the season. Their recent break out comes as their bats came alive in time to aid a struggling rotation. David Price has helped stabilize their rotation some, despite not being at full form. Rick Porcello hasn’t looked a bit like his Cy Young self, throwing the back of the rotation in flux. Where their rotation has faltered, their bullpen has succeded. Holding games long enough for their bats to do the job.

Their offense has always been the key to their success. When on, Boston is one of the best teams in baseball. However, when silent, it highlights how fragile their rotation really is. If Drew Pomeranz or Porcello can find their footing in time for the second half, they can take the reigns of power from New York. The Red Sox will visit Kansas City this week, before hosting the Angels during the weekend.

Final Takeaway:
Boston has surged to the top of the division with their bats firmly on point. If they can stay hot, they’ll afford the rotation time enough to figure things out.

Rays Remain Relevant
37-35

The Rays continue to keep pace in the AL East, as they posted another week at .500. Their record places them less than four games out of first. A feat many thought impossible at the start of the season. They earned series splits with both the Blue Jays and the Tigers as they prepare to host the Reds and a crumbling Baltimore. The Rays offense was largely on point, capped by a homer happy route of Detroit on Sunday night. This aided an effective rotation that helped to lessen the work load on some of their bullpen staff. Rookie Jacob Faria dazzled in two starts for Tampa, dominating some tough batters.

As long as the Rays can maintain this type of pace, they will remain in contention for a WC slot, which they are now in possession of. If they can do this while still managing a revolving door of injuries, we could see the Rays push for the post season. For this they’ll need to see the consistent production from their bats, arms, and pen that they have seen in the past few weeks.

Final Takeaway:

I have to admit that the chance of seeing this Rays team compete into October excites me. When they are on, they are one of the most spectacular teams to watch play, much to the ire of my fellow Jays fans.

Baltimore Mashes and Misses
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It was a tale of two teams for the Orioles this week. The first portion of the week we saw the Orioles act like the team they have been recently, as they managed only one win against the White Sox. Baltimore then looked like the team from early this year as they went bombs away in a series win against the Cardinals. The week kept them at 4th in the Division with an even record.

The Orioles offense is the key to the success of this team. They saw this as they had 23 runs between Saturday and Sunday. The Orioles rotation has been a huge disappointment so far. Dylan Bundy has been the best of their rotation. Outside of his performance, they have many questions and holes. Chris Tillman has looked lost, managing only one win en route to an ERA of 8.07 on the season.

The rotational woes have only put more strain on their bullpen than they appear to be able to handle. Zach Britton is still out, and now joined by Darren O’Day. Mychal Givens has stepped up big recently. He now has double the wins of every rotation arm, with the exception of Bundy. Chris Davis is unlikely to return until after the All Star Break, which will make an inconsistent offense even worse. For the O’s to mash like they did Saturday, they’ll need Manny Machado to step up and be the star that the Baseball world knows he can be.

Next: Blue Jays: Goins has a month to prove worth as a starter

Final Takeaway:

Only time will tell if the weekend successes are indicative of the offense waking from their slumber. They’ll need their bats to compete, as their rotation has looked like one of the worst in Baseball.