Blue Jays week in review: the good, the bad and the noteworthy for July 28

After a three game sweep over the San Francisco Giants coming out of the All-Star break, the Toronto Blue Jays geared up for what was, on paper, their toughest week of the season. First up, division rivals the New York Yankees who were just three games behind Toronto for the division lead. That three game series was followed by a four game trip to Detroit to take on the Tigers who had the best record in the American League, before the week started.

The Blue Jays passed this proverbial test with flying colours, going 5-2 and ending the week with the best record in all of baseball. At 63-43, the Blue Jays are in cruise control heading into the trade deadline, and haven't been this far ahead in the division lead, this late into the season since 1992. With a five-and-a-half game lead over New York, here's a look at what the good, the bad and the noteworthy over the last seven days.

The good: Increasing that run differential

Remember when Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay said the Blue Jays weren't a first place team mostly because of their run differential? Well the Blue Jays outscored the Yankees 16-10 in their three game series this weekend, and outscored both the Yankees and Tigers 35-12 in their five wins. Safe to say the run differential stat isn't the end all-be all of what makes up a first place team.

The Blue Jays, while they struggled offensively out of the gates, have picked it up a notch since the end of May and have outscored opponents 261-210 over the last two months. They are also getting contributions from players up and down the lineup, with the graphic below detailing the biggest contributors via wRC+ since May 8th

The Blue Jays have truly embodied the essence of what it means to hit as a team. On any given night the players 1-9 are making life difficult for opposing pitchers, and Manager John Schneider has used platoons, and late game substitutions so expertly this year, that it's created a deep bench of players who are contributing to the teams success.

The bad: Hoffman serves up another home run

In the middle game of their three game set against the Yankees, the two teams entered the ninth inning tied 4-4. With one out and nobody on, Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman allowed a home run to the Yankees Ben Rice, for what ended up being the decisive factor in New York's 5-4 win. That was the 10th home run allowed by Hoffman this season, which is the second most among all relievers in MLB - behind teammate Chad Green who has allowed 12.

While Hoffman's peripheral numbers don't look amazing, with a 4.78 ERA, four blown saves and 23 runs allowed, including those ten home runs - he has been extremely effective. He's only allowed two home runs in the month of July and he's given up more than one run in an outing just once since the end of May. His numbers since June 1 are; 18 innings pitched, 24 strikeouts, six earned runs, with an ERA of 3.00 in 20 games pitched, with a 2-1 record and 11 saves. Meanwhile, his 60 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched are the ninth most strikeouts by a reliever in the American League, and third among closers.

The role of the closer is such that any mistake is going to get magnified, and in this instance this past week, it was the difference in the outcome between a win and a loss.

The noteworthy: Bo brings them home

At the rate Bo Bichette is playing, he could be one of the most attractive free agents on the market come seasons end. He's slashing .281/322/448 with an OPS+ of 110. His 121 hits leads the team by a healthy margin and he's found his power stroke once again by hitting 13 home runs, after putting just four over the fence during an injury riddled 2024 campaign. He's also managed a 15.7% strikeout rate, which is a career low for Bichette and his hard hit rate of 48.1% is just behind his career high of 50.8%.

But perhaps the most valuable asset Bo has brought to the club this year is his absolute clutch stat of hitting .387 with runners in scoring position.

He's driven in 65 runs this season with 10 of them coming this week. In five of the seven games, Bichette had two RBI. He becomes a much better hitter when there are guys on base, as he's hitting .266 with nobody on, but his average goes up to .436 with a man on second, and .385 with a man on third. He's also 3-7 with seven RBI with the bases loaded. Bo has been clutch in these moments for the Blue Jays all season, just part of the reason for their success this season.

On deck: Deadline week

While the Blue Jays have a four game set in Baltimore to start the week, and finish up against the Royals in Kanasas City, all eyes will be glued to what they do off the field, just as much as what they do on the field. Thursday is the MLB trade deadline and there has been tons of speculation that the Blue Jays will be looking to make a big move. Whether that's adding to the bullpen, the lineup or the rotation, that remains to be seen. But as it stands, their schedule on the field should give them an even bigger opportunity to build in their division lead.