Jays pitching foursome deepest in history
PERFORMANCE APT TO TELL THE TALE ON DRIVE TO MAKE POST-SEASON
It was perhaps a low point of the most unsightly stage of the rebuild, with the Blue Jays well on their way to a 95-loss season, when manager Charlie Montoyo injected some gallows humour into the proceedings.
Sitting in the visitor’s office in Atlanta on Sept. 2, 2019, Montoyo was asked who would be starting the next night and his answer on the state of the Jays rotation was as honest as it was demoralizing.
“We honestly don’t know,” Montoyo deadpanned. “An opener and a guy.”
With a rotation and pitching staff barely tethered together, the Jays played out the string, clutching to the hope there would be better days ahead.
Fast forward less than two years and Montoyo doesn’t even need to consider using an opener and when the Jays skipper talks of “a guy” it invariably involves one of the better current starting pitchers in the game.
In fact, heading into Thursday’s conclusion of a four-game series in Anaheim, the Jays had three starters entrenched among the top seven in ERA in the American League. Better yet: A fourth starter, Alek Manoah, has the lowest earned run total of the staff but doesn’t qualify statistically because of his reduced workload.
Leading the way atop the AL is Robbie Ray at 2.90 followed by No. 4, Jose Berrios (3.23 prior to Thursday’s start at Angel Stadium) and No. 7, Hyun-jin Ryu (3.62.)
After his 11 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings in Wednesday’s 10-2 win over the Angels, Manoah’s ERA is at 2.59. Just 60 innings pitched over his 11 starts doesn’t qualify for statistical ranking, however, a statistic that is based on one inning for every game a pitcher’s team has played.
As much as the explosive Jays offence is perceived to be driving the team’s bid for a playoff spot, it can certainly be argued that the stability and quality of the rotation is keeping them in games night after night, a position of strength that provides an important psychological edge.
“You have a chance to win every night,” pitching coach Pete Walker said in an interview at the Rogers Centre during the team’s recent homestand. “I think from a team standpoint the players on the field they feel good every night. When they come to the park and set foot on the diamond they know they are in a position to win a ball game.”
Jays pitchers are increasingly getting deeper into those games as well, which takes some pressure off the beleaguered bullpen.
The addition of Berrios at the July 30 trade deadline has deepened what was already a promising group and the results have spiked accordingly.
Over the previous 15 games (heading into Thursday’s action), Jays starters have gone 9-1 while combining for a 2.16 ERA (just 20 earned runs allowed in 83.1 innings) and holding opposing hitters to a .215 average. The rotation’s 2.25 ERA since the deadline is the skimpiest in the AL and second in all of MLB to Milwaukee’s 1.75.
It certainly can be argued that by the ERA measure, anyway, this is the deepest starting foursome in Jays history. Their ability to maintain that current form could go a long way toward determining how sustained their post-season push will be for the remainder of August and into September.
It doesn’t take deep statistical analysis to articulate the effect the success is having on the team, either. The Jays have gone 11-3 since acquiring Berrios in what feels like their hottest streak of the season.
“When your rotation is performing, there’s a feeling in the clubhouse and during the course of the game, especially early, that if we put some runs on the board we’re going to be in good shape,” Walker said. “It’s just a comfort level where they don’t have to put too much pressure on themselves.”
It’s also a far cry from the situation in late 2019 when Montoyo made the comment that would encapsulate the throwaway season.
As it turned out, the “opener and a guy” lineup turned out to be Wilmer Font starting followed by T.J. Zeuch, Derek Law and Sam Gaviglio leading to a 7-2 loss to the Braves in which six different pitchers were trotted out.
The next night it was Trent Thornton followed by the not so fearsome foursome of Brock Stewart, Buddy Boshers, Jason Adam and Ryan Tepera.
The fact that the concept of an opener has gone missing from most Jays coaching and baseball operations meetings has been a welcome development for the manager.
“It’s one of the reasons we’re playing good baseball. When you have an opener, one of the things that means is that your starters aren’t that great. You have to make an adjustment. When you have five, six good starters you don’t need an opener and that’s what we’ve got going right now,” Montoyo said.
With such top-down strength among the starters, the Jays also have options in terms of manipulating the rotation for matchups with specific opponents. We saw it when the team loaded up the big four for this past weekend’s big series against the Red Sox in which the Jays took three of four.
It also has facilitated the relatively luxurious debate among Jays fans and observers over what order would be best should a post-season berth come calling this October.
Internally, when as many arms are delivering the way the four guys at the top of the jays rotation are right now, there is a tangible benefit as well.
“I think that the rotation starts to feed off of each other,” Walker said. “In a way, they want to one up each other. None of them want to be the weak link. It raises everybody’s game when you build a rotation like that and that’s where we’re at right now.”
Meanwhile, the work of Manoah has been truly impressive. When he allowed five hits in the Jays 10-2 win over the Angels, it was the first time he had allowed more than four in his 11 starts.
“He’s getting some experience for sure,” Walker said. “Surrounding himself with Ray and Ryu and Berrios and (Steven Matz and Ross Stripling) — guys who have been around, only helps him. His daily routine will continue to improve. His approach against major league hitters will improve and he’ll also see how these guys handle adversity.”