A look around the AL East: How are the top Blue Jays competition faring as of late?
As we near the three-month mark of the season, the American League East is again proving to be the toughest division in baseball. All five teams are currently playing above .500 ball, the only division in the MLB with five winning records.
Let's take a tour around the AL East and see how the Blue Jays' competition has been doing lately.
Tampa Bay Rays, 54-27
Still holding first place, the Tampa Bay Rays continue to roll through the competition. Their .667 winning percentage isn't as impressive as the .793 mark they had at the end of April, but they're still the best team in baseball and 14-9 in June.
After a seven-game win streak at the beginning of the month, they have looked beatable recently, going 5-5 over their last 10 games. They lost two out of three to the San Diego Padres and went 1-1 against the Baltimore Orioles. Shockingly, they split their four-game sets with the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals, the bottom-dwellers of the standings.
On the season, the Rays still have a top-tier offense. They're second in team wOBA (.347) and first in wRC+ (127). Over the last month, however, the division frontrunners have slipped at the plate. They are sporting a 14th-ranked .320 wOBA in June, below the Blue Jays' 8th-best .327 mark, while both clubs have a 109 wRC+ over that time.
Despite a plethora of injuries to their pitching staff this season, the Rays continue to pitch at a high level, because of course they do. So far in June, they lead the majors in opponent batting average (.208) and slugging percentage (.349) and are fifth with a .286 wOBA against.
With the Wander Franco drama behind them, the Rays face a tough test this week as they travel to Arizona to take on the NL West-leading Diamondbacks. Hopefully, Corbin Carroll, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and company can slow them down so the Jays can make up some ground.
Next: Are the Baltimore Orioles for real?
Baltimore Orioles, 48-29
The 48-29 Baltimore Orioles look like the real deal this year. With a .623 winning percentage on the season, they have the third-best record in the majors and just keep on rolling. At 13-8 in June, they sit four games back in the division and have a robust six-game lead for the top Wild Card spot.
The Orioles are 6-4 over their last 10 games, most recently taking two of three from the Seattle Mariners. They also swept the hard-luck Kansas City Royals and took two of three from the San Francisco Giants earlier in the month. Despite losing their series against the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs, they split their two-game set in Tampa last week.
The Blue Jays got an up-close and personal look at their division rivals a couple of weeks ago and were only able to win one in their three-game series at Camden Yards.
It doesn't seem like the young Orioles are slowing down much as the dog days of summer approach. After a hot start, which saw them post the eighth-best team wOBA (.331) and score the sixth-most runs (147) through the end of April, their bats have just slightly cooled off in June. With an 11th-ranked .325 wOBA and 107 wRC+ this month, they are still producing at the plate but are 16th in runs scored, with 99.
On top of that, their pitching hasn't been anything spectacular. Since the calendar flipped to June, their staff is 19th in ERA (4.27), while their .319 wOBA against puts them 18th, right behind the Jays at .319.
With yet another top prospect, Jordan Westburg, added to their roster, the Orioles matchup against another team full of young, talented players this week when they host the upstart Cincinnati Reds for a three-game series. Jays fans can only hope that rookie Elly De La Cruz and veteran Joey Votto continue their exciting run while visiting Camden Yards.
Next: A look at the New York Yankees' June struggles
New York Yankees, 43-35
At 43-35, the New York Yankees sit third in the AL East, 9.5 games back of the Rays. They're definitely not having the season they, or anyone else, envisioned, especially after they won the division by seven games last year.
The Bronx Bombers are 9-11 in June, with a 4-6 record in their last 10 games and are barely hanging on to the second Wild Card, just a half-game ahead of the Blue Jays. While they have won their two most recent series, taking two of three from the Seattle Mariners and the powerhouse Texas Rangers, they have struggled mightily against Boston this month. The Yankees dropped five out of six games against the Red Sox in June, including a sweep in their last meeting.
In a season beset by injuries, the Yankees have seen their vaunted offense from a year ago reduced to a mere shadow of itself. With Aaron Judge on the IL for most of June with a torn ligament in his toe and no timetable for his return, things look bleak in New York.
They have the fewest hits (124) and runs scored (66) since the beginning of June. They also sit dead last in batting average (.195), OPS (.622), wOBA (.270) and wRC+ (69).
Despite a pitching staff that seems to have taken more trips to the infirmary than the mound, they have held their own with a 3.68 ERA this month, ninth-best in the majors. Their pitchers have held opponents to a .246 batting average and a .316 wOBA this month, both around league-average marks.
The Yankees finish their month on the road this week with three winnable games in Oakland against the Athletics. Their pitching will have to carry the load, as the offense, now relying on the likes of one-time Blue Jay Billy McKinney, doesn't seem up to the task after a miserable month.
Next: Are the Boston Red Sox good, or not?
Boston Red Sox, 40-39
Barely over .500, at 40-39, the Boston Red Sox sit at the bottom of the AL East, 13 games behind the Rays. While they are last in the division, they would be in first place in the AL Central and are still close to a playoff spot, just three games back of the Blue Jays for the final Wild Card.
With a 12-12 June record, the Red Sox are 6-4 in their last 10 games but have dropped two in a row after losing their weekend series to the Chicago White Sox. They lost three of four to the Rays at the beginning of June but took five out of six against the Yankees to improve to 13-11 against AL East teams on the season.
Boston hasn't fared well outside of their games against New York. They lost series to the Cleveland Guardians and Colorado Rockies and split a four-game set with the Minnesota Twins last week.
The Red Sox offense is tough to figure out. They have the eighth-most hits (204) in the majors in June and have scored the ninth-most runs (109). However, their .320 wOBA is 15th overall, down from their impressive .334 mark through the end of May. Their .249 batting average and 98 wRC+ put them behind their division rivals, except the offensively challenged Yankees.
An area where they have improved is their pitching. After surrendering the sixth-most runs (276) and allowing the ninth-highest wOBA against (.327) in the season's first two months, they have started to steady the ship. In June, they are 16th with 97 runs allowed and have the 12th-best wOBA against (.308).
They'll try and finish the month over .500 when they welcome the surprising 45-34 Miami Marlins to Fenway for a three-game set before heading on the road where their first stop is Toronto.