Blue Jays: Looking back at the last 10 Opening Day starters and lineups

The Toronto Blue Jays announced the order of their starting rotation for 2018. While it may not be a big deal in the long run, the nod of starting Opening Day is a big deal. That task has been assigned to J.A. Happ for 2018. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at the past 10 starters on Opening Day for the Blue Jays.

The End of Roy Halladay’s reign and beginning of mediocrity

• 2008 – Roy Halladay at New York Yankees – Loss 3-2

Blue Jays 2008 Opening Day Lineup:

• SS – David Eckstein
• LF – Shannon Stewart
• RF – Alex Rios
• CF – Vernon Wells
• DH – Frank Thomas
• 1B – Lyle Overbay
• 2B – Aaron Hill
• 3B – Marco Scutaro
• C – Gregg Zaun

2008 marked the 6th straight Opening Day assignment for Roy Halladay in a Blue Jays uniform and is still the longest such stretch of assignments for one pitcher in Blue Jays history. Opening Day was rained out, so the make-up game was the next night at Yankee Stadium. It was the final Opening Day at the old Yankee Stadium.

Opposing Roy Halladay was Chien-Ming Wang, who’d later end up a Blue Jay in 2013 for a brief stint. Halladay went 7.0 strong innings, only allowing three runs but wasn’t good enough to beat Wang’s two earned runs over 7.0 innings. It was a nice pitcher’s duel to open up the season.

• 2009 – Roy Halladay vs. Detroit Tigers – Win 12-5

Blue Jays 2009 Opening Day Lineup:

• C – Rod Barajas
• 1B – Lyle Overbay
• 2B – Aaron Hill
• 3B – Scott Rolen
• SS – Marco Scutaro
• LF – Travis Snider
• CF – Vernon Wells
• RF – Alex Rios
• DH – Adam Lind

This would be the final Opening Day start for Roy Halladay in a Blue Jays uniform. It was the 7th in a row for Halladay, which is officially the club record for most consecutive Opening Day starts for a single starting pitcher. The Blue Jays throttled Justin Verlander to the tune of eight earned runs on this day.

Halladay threw 7.0 innings allowing five earned runs. Notable offensive contributions on this Opening Day include a Travis Snider home run, and six RBI from Adam Lind who hit a three run home run. Tigers’ center fielder Curtis Granderson, who is now a Blue Jay, homered off of Halladay in the 4th inning.

• 2010 – Shaun Marcum at Texas Rangers – Loss 5-4 

Blue Jays 2010 Opening Day Lineup:

• C – John Buck
• 1B – Lyle Overbay
• 2B – Aaron Hill
• 3B – Edwin Encarnacion
• SS – Alex Gonzalez
• LF – Travis Snider
• CF – Vernon Wells
• RF – Jose Bautista
• DH – Adam Lind

2010 marked the first Opening Day assignment for a pitcher other than Roy Halladay since Chris Carpenter took the ball in 2002. It’s amazing to think of the consistency Halladay brought, something Blue Jays fans haven’t seen from an Opening Day starter since his last 2009 start. Shaun Marcum earned the nod and he pitched very well, going 7.0 strong innings allowing three runs.

Opposing Marcum was another eventual Blue Jay Scott Feldman, who matched Marcum’s 7.0 innings and three runs. The Blue Jays got off to a fast start offensively with a two run home run in the first inning from Vernon Wells, and a solo shot in the 3rd from Adam Lind. The Blue Jays got a 4-3 lead in the top of the 8th inning but Jason Frasor couldn’t nail down the save. This was also the first Opening Day of both franchise icons Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista.

• 2011 – Ricky Romero vs. Minnesota Twins – Win 13-3

Blue Jays 2011 Opening Day Lineup:

• C – J.P. Arencibia
• 1B – Adam Lind
• 2B – Aaron Hill
• 3B – Edwin Encarnacion
• SS – Yunel Escobar
• LF – Travis Snider
• CF – Rajai Davis
• RF – Jose Bautista
• DH – Juan Rivera

For a little while, it looked as if this would be the beginning of multiple Opening Day starts for Ricky Romero, a young emerging left hander. Romero went 6.1 strong innings allowing three runs, with just one earned. His counterpart for the Twins, Carl Pavano was the opposite of good. He allowed eight runs, seven earned, over 4.0 innings.

The Blue Jays hit four home runs this day including two from J.P. Arencibia, one from Adam Lind, and one from Jose Bautista, who followed up his 54 home run season with a bang. Every regular in the lineup got hits on this day except for Travis Snider and Juan Rivera. Note, this was the first Opening Day since 2001 that Vernon Wells wasn’t patrolling center field.

Coming out of mediocrity and bringing back excitement to Toronto?

• 2012 – Ricky Romero at Cleveland Indians – Win 7-4 (16 innings)

Blue Jays 2012 Opening Day Lineup:

• C- J.P. Arencibia
• 1B – Adam Lind
• 2B – Kelly Johnson
• 3B – Brett Lawrie
• SS – Yunel Escobar
• LF – Eric Thames
• CF – Colby Rasmus
• RF – Jose Bautista
• DH – Edwin Encarnacion

This Opening Day brought some form of optimism, as it was the first year MLB introduced the new playoff format and a 2nd wildcard spot. People thought the 2012 Blue Jays could potentially compete for a spot with the new format in place.

This was the 2nd Opening Day start in a row for Ricky Romero and it unfortunately would be his last, as his knees just simply weren’t strong enough anymore. 2012 was the sharp decline of what was looking to be a good career for Ricky Romero. He struggled this Opening Day, labouring through 5.0 innings and allowing four earned runs, including a three run home run off the bat of Jack Hannahan.

Opposing Romero was Justin Masterson, who was simply incredible. Masterson went 8.0 innings only allowing one run while striking out 10. It all fell apart for Mark Shapiro’s Indians when Chris Perez came in and blew the save. The Blue Jays tied the game in the 9th and won it in the 16th inning after a three run homer from Arencibia, and a shaky save from Sergio Santos. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, they didn’t take advantage of the new playoff format that season.

• 2013 – R.A. Dickey vs. Cleveland Indians – Loss 4-1

Blue Jays 2013 Opening Day Lineup:

• C – J.P. Arencibia
• 1B – Edwin Encarnacion
• 2B – Emilio Bonifacio
• 3B – Brett Lawrie
• SS – Jose Reyes
• LF – Melky Cabrera
• CF – Colby Rasmus
• RF – Jose Bautista
• DH – Adam Lind

R.A. Dickey, the prized acquisition in an off-season that also featured the massive Miami Marlins trade, got the nod on this uber exciting Opening Day. Following the crazy off-season, many thought this would finally be the year the Blue Jays would end the playoff drought. This Opening Day was a bit of a mess, which ended up being the story of the 2013 Blue Jays.

Dickey made his debut for the Blue Jays on Opening Day and it was rough. J.P. Arencibia had what seemed like endless passed balls trying to catch the knuckleball, and Dickey did not look like a Cy Young winner over 6.0 innings. Justin Masterson wasn’t as dominant as a year ago on Opening Day, but he still threw 6.0 innings allowing just one run.

• 2014 – R.A. Dickey at Tampa Bay Rays – Loss 9-2

Blue Jays 2014 Opening Day Lineup:

• C – Josh Thole
• 1B – Edwin Encarnacion
• 2B – Maicer Izturis
• 3B – Brett Lawrie
• SS – Jose Reyes
• LF – Melky Cabrera
• CF – Colby Rasmus
• RF – Jose Bautista
• DH – Dioner Navarro

R.A. Dickey got the call for the 2nd straight year on Opening Day, and for the 2nd straight year, Dickey struggled with the assignment. He allowed six earned runs over 5.0 innings while future Blue Jay David Price continued his dominance over the Blue Jays with two earned runs over 7.1 innings.

The 2014 season was a step in the right direction for the Blue Jays. Until early July, the Blue Jays were in first place in the AL East. Until mid-August, they had a wildcard spot. There was a sense of excitement around this team for quite a while during the 2014 season, but they ultimately fell short of the post-season. Luckily for Blue Jays fans, this was the beginning of a playoff era of baseball.

Playoff Baseball Returns

• 2015 – Drew Hutchison at New York Yankees – Win 6-1

Blue Jays 2015 Opening Day Lineup:

• C – Russell Martin
• 1B – Edwin Encarnacion
• 2B – Devon Travis
• 3B – Josh Donaldson
• SS – Jose Reyes
• LF – Kevin Pillar
• CF – Dalton Pompey
• RF – Jose Bautista
• DH – Dioner Navarro

2015 was supposed to be the year where Marcus Stroman began a string of Opening Day assignments in a row, but a torn ACL during spring training delayed that a year. Instead, it was 2014 standout Drew Hutchison who got the honour of pitching Opening Day at Yankee Stadium. The Opening Day, ESPN televised game didn’t scare Hutchison who threw 6.0 innings allowing one run.

On this day, the Josh Donaldson era began. Donaldson was held hitless, but Edwin Encarnacion and Devon Travis both hit home runs to back Hutchison’s start. Newcomer Russell Martin also knocked in two runs. The guy who was supposed to be the Opening Day starter in Stroman, returned in September to anchor a rotation with David Price that saw the Blue Jays win the AL East crown.

For the first time in over 20 years, the Blue Jays finally made the playoffs in 2015. Unfortunately they fell short in six games to the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS. The magical 2015 season began with Drew Hutchison getting the Opening Day nod. Who could have imagined at the time what would become of this season?

• 2016 – Marcus Stroman at Tampa Bay Rays – Win 5-3

Blue Jays 2016 Opening Day Lineup:

• C – Russell Martin
• 1B – Chris Colabello
• 2B – Ryan Goins
• 3B – Josh Donaldson
• SS – Troy Tulowitzki
• LF – Michael Saunders
• CF – Kevin Pillar
• RF – Jose Bautista
• DH – Edwin Encarnacion

Marcus Stroman finally got his much anticipated Opening Day assignment. The Blue Jays, who were fresh off a deep playoff run were one of six teams (three games total) that were chosen for the three Sunday Opening Day games to feature them on national television. Marcus Stroman didn’t disappoint. He threw two batters into the 9th inning this day and ultimately allowed three earned runs over 8.0 innings.

Chris Archer laboured over 5.0 innings where he allowed two earned runs but struck out 12 batters. The Blue Jays got to Archer early and Troy Tulowitzki provided insurance in the 8th with a two run home run off Ryan Webb. The Blue Jays went on to qualify for the first wildcard spot where they defeated the Baltimore Orioles, swept the Texas Rangers, and once again, lost in the ALCS. 2016 was an exciting season, but we now move more to the present day, which involves the loss of two franchise icons.