STRIKE ZONE
Marco Estrada sees a silver lining to the two games in Cleveland being washed out ... Doubleheader creates travel nightmare for Jays ... Granderson to wear tribute sneakers
CLEVELAND — As Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada sat in the visiting clubhouse at Progressive Field watching Danny Barnes play a golf game on a nearby machine, pitching coach Pete Walker walked past. “What you got Pete?” Estrada asked.
“Want to know if you’re going to throw on the side,” Walker answered.
“Seriously?” Estrada answered with a laugh.
Walker wasn’t being serious. Put it this way, if an ark floated down Eagle Ave. past Progressive Field on Sunday, nobody would have blinked an eye. The weather in Cleveland (much like Toronto) has been miserable the last two days with tons of rain, resulting in two consecutive game postponements after Toronto won the opener against the Indians on Friday. As of late Sunday morning, the Jays were trying to figure out if the team plane could get to Cleveland and take them home. And, if not, whether some buses could be arranged.
From a logistical perspective, what the double postponement means is a traditional doubleheader will be played at Progressive Field on May 3 beginning at 1:10 p.m. May 3 was originally a day off for the Jays. They open a threegame series in Minnesota on April 30. After the final game in Minny on May 2, they were originally going to fly to Tampa for a threegame series against the Rays starting May 4, meaning that May 3 would have been a day off in the sun. Now they’ll be squeezing in a doubleheader on that day.
“I know a lot of guys do live in Tampa and were looking forward to that off day and are a little bummed, but for someone like me who lives nowhere near there, it really doesn’t affect me at all,” Estrada said. “It’s baseball, we got to work when we got to work and we’ll be ready to play that doubleheader.” Left-hander Jaime Gar
cia was scheduled to start in Saturday’s game here at Progressive Field and then his start was pushed to Sunday. But with both games postponed, manager John
Gibbons and the coaching staff were left with decision whether to keep the rotation in order and start Garcia on Monday when the Jays open a three-game series at the Rogers Centre against the Kansas City Royals. Estrada said having two unscheduled days off might bother some starters, who are real creatures of habit, but he’s good with it. In fact, Estrada believes that the extra time off between starts could be a bonus for him.
“Normally I like being on my five-day (schedule), but sometimes these things happen and you just got to deal with it,” said Estrada, who is 1-1 with a 4.24 ERA in three starts this season. “But I think for me it came at a pretty good time because I had a little bit of a back spasm in my last outing (last Wednesday in Baltimore) and this gives me a few extra days to rest and it should be 100% by the next one.”
Barring a change, the rotation schedule would be Garcia on Monday, followed by fellow lefty J.A. Happ on Tuesday, RHP
Aaron Sanchez on Wednesday, Estrada on Thursday in New York and then Mar
cus Stroman also against the Yankees on Friday.
“I like being on my normal five-day (schedule),” Estrada said. “But sometimes these things happen and you just got to deal with it. But it does feel a bit weird.”
Estrada said another down side of the two consecutive postponed games is the fact that the Jays are on a bit of a roll, winning four of their past five.
“Obviously, we’ve been playing really well and you want that momentum going,” Estrada said. “But hopefully it’s not going to affect anything. Maybe our first game out (Monday) we might be a little rusty but I don’t think taking two days off is going to affect anybody.”
HONOURING ICONS
OF Curtis Granderson had sneakers custom-made to wear on Jackie Robinson Day on Sunday in Cleveland. Because the game was postponed, he’ll wear them at the Rogers Centre for the first of a three-game series against the Royals on Monday. The Jays will also wear Robinson’s No. 42 on Monday. Granderson’s shoes also honour Larry Doby, the first African-American to play in the American League. Doby joined the Indians shortly after Robinson arrived in Brooklyn to play with the Dodgers. Doby broke in with Cleveland and that’s why Granderson decided to honour Doby, because the Jays were originally playing on Jackie Robinson Day in Cleveland.
AROUND THE DIAMOND
Roberto Osuna pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to finish Friday’s game (an 8-4 win over the Indians), his sixth clean outing of the season. Over his past 12 games (12.1 IP) dating back to last season, Toronto’s closer has not allowed a run while converting all nine of his save opportunities, including the 100th of his career on Tuesday. Over that stretch, only two batters have reached base, both doing so on singles (.053 OBA, 0.16 WHIP, 0BB/12K) ... The Jays have reached the nine-win mark this season in 14 games, as opposed to 26 games last year. They needed 29 games to earn a 10th win in 2017, doing so on May 5. Toronto last played above .500 in March/April in 2012 (12-11). The Jays started with a 1-2 March but have posted an 8-3 record in April for a .727 win percentage this month. The team’s best win percentage for April came in 1992 with a 16-7 record (.696).