The Toronto Blue Jays appear to be back on track, and all it took was facing off against the tough American League East.
In late May, the Blue Jays appeared to be in trouble. Despite getting mostly excellent pitching performances from their starting rotation, the bullpen and the club’s notoriously powerful offense wasn’t producing at a level needed to compete in what’s often considered baseball’s toughest division. Toronto sat two games under .500 in late May as stars Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin and Jose Bautista all struggled at the plate – with both Martin and Tulowitzki fighting to stay above the Mendoza line.
Instead of being division leaders as expected, the Blue Jays were subject to trade rumors, as many pundits thought the team was on the verge of being blown up.
With the club teetering around .500, an upcoming 12-game stretch against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees was vital in keeping Toronto’s playoffs hopes alive while also serving as a great opportunity for the club to gain ground in the division.
The Blue Jays made some changes to try to get their mojo back. Toronto used an unorthodox lineup which was instituted following a team meeting in late May. On-base machine Jose Bautista would bat leadoff, followed by the big boppers of the Blue Jays lineup in Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion. The new Toronto lineup would force pitchers into a tough spot right off the bat while giving Bautista as much at-bats as possible. Bautista represented a much better leadoff solution than former top of the order hitter Kevin Pillar. Manager John Gibbons wanted immediate firepower atop the lineup and got it.
The Blue Jays’ AL East stand started off well. The team took two of three from the Yankees on the road, behind the strong pitching performances of the underrated Marco Estrada and the surprisingly valuable J.A. Happ. Unfortunately, Tulowitzki exited the series opener, tried to return in the next series and was placed on the DL with a hamstring injury. It wasn’t all bad news, as long-injured second baseman Devon Travis returned in the middle game to give the team a boost.
TORONTO, CANADA – JUNE 1: Devon Travis #29 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a single in the second inning during MLB game action against the New York Yankees on June 1, 2016 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
Toronto continued its winning ways, taking two of three at home from the Boston Red Sox, as the offense came alive scoring 20 runs in the series. The Blue Jays followed that up with a three-game sweep of the Yankees, with Happ, Aaron Sanchez, and R.A. Dickey allowing only one earned run between them.
The Jays finished their AL East stand taking two of three from the Red Sox at Fenway, with Estrada and Dickey both no-hitting Boston into the sixth inning, though Estrada took his no-hitter into the eighth. Toronto’s pitchers made baseball’s best offense look human. The Blue Jays’ power hitters also delivered at the plate, with Martin, Donaldson, Bautista, and Edwin Encarnacion all going deep multiple times during the 12-game AL East showdown.
Over the 12-game stretch, the Blue Jays hit 17 home runs and scored 60 total runs with a .242 batting average and a .323 OBP. While the averages could be better, Toronto’s offense was back to its beat-you-with-the-longball ways. With a strong 3.50 ERA, the team’s pitching staff gave them a chance to win each night. A balanced hitting and pitching performance helped the Blue Jays get back on track.
TORONTO, CANADA – MAY 28: Russell Martin #55 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits an RBI double to tie the game in the ninth inning during MLB game action against the Boston Red Sox on May 28, 2016 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
Toronto would go 9-3 against the Yankees and Red Sox over this two week period, gaining ground in the division with a 31-27 record and putting themselves just 2.5 games back of the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles. The Blue Jays’ return to form came at the most necessary time, as losing to the Red Sox and Yankees would have sunk their AL East chances. Toronto found momentum and went on a much-needed streak of winning tough games.
It’s not going to get easier from this point on. Seven of the Blue Jays’ next 14 games come against the AL East-leading Orioles. If Toronto can continue to hit and pitch at the consistency of their last 12 games, the team might be at the top of the AL East when those games wrap up. That scenario seemed extremely unlikely the way the Blue Jays were floundering earlier in the season.
