Homestand is crucial for Jays’ postseason
Here’s a breakdown of the next two series for the Toronto Blue Jays (83-69), representing their final seven games at home as they try to make the playoffs for the second straight year.
NEW YORK YANKEES ( 79- 72) Season series vs. Yankees: 9-6
Three things to beat the Yankees 1. Get Gary Sanchez out. This has been a tough task for everyone since the 23-yearold catcher was recalled from triple-A and he’s almost singlehandedly kept the Yankees in the wild-card mix by bashing 19 home runs since Aug. 10.
On Wednesday, Sanchez became the fastest player in the modern era to reach 19 home runs, needing just 45 games after hitting two more in a win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The right-handed slugger has already hit three homers in 18 atbats against the Blue Jays this season, helping him to a .747 slugging percentage and a .410 isolated power mark. Pitching around the surprising rookie of the year candidate might be a smart idea.
2. Find some offensive consistency.
This was the thought Tuesday when the Blue Jays piled up 10 runs and banged out 14 hits, including four home runs, in a win over the Seattle Mariners: “Maybe the bats are coming around at the right time.”
This was the thought Wednesday when they followed it up with just six hits in 12 innings to lose 2-1: “Maybe not.”
Such has been the story far too often this month, as the oncevaunted Blue Jays offence scored just 69 runs during September, the lowest total in the American League. 3. Win the first game. With the Yankees sitting 3.5 games back of the Blue Jays and 2.5 games in arrears of the Baltimore Orioles for the second wildcard berth heading into Thursday night’s action, the four-game series at Rogers Centre is huge.
The visitors need to win at least three of four in Toronto to leave the city on a happy note, meaning a Jays win in the series opener on Friday with Francisco Liriano on the mound would really put the pressure on manager Joe Girardi’s club.
The Jays also caught a break when it was announced Thursday that Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka will miss his next start, slated for Monday’s series finale, due to a forearm strain.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES ( 82- 70) Season series vs. Orioles: 9-7
Three things to beat the Orioles
1. Chicks dig the long ball.
As of Thursday, the Orioles led the American League in long balls by far with 238, while the Blue Jays have homered 214 times to sit second.
This month, however, while the Orioles have continued to trot their way to a whole lot of runs, the Blue Jays have hit just 18 homers in September, leaving them second-to-last in the AL at a key time, contributing to their lost grip on the division lead.
Mark Trumbo, Manny Machado, Chris Davis and Adam Jones can all hurt you in a hurry and the Blue Jays are definitely wary of that.
2. Get to the Orioles’ starters. While Blue Jays starters that have toed the rubber this season have pitched to an American League-leading 3.79 ERA, the Orioles have been running out a host of average hurlers that haven’t even been average statistically, as they hold the secondworst ERA for a starting staff in the AL at 4.86.
Only the lowly Minnesota Twins have been worse, with a ghastly 5.48 ERA.
The Orioles have the benefit of an off-day on Monday, which could allow them to send their top three starters — Chris Tillman, Kevin Gausman and the resurgent Ubaldo Jimenez — to the hill at Rogers Centre, if they so choose.
3. It’s an eight-inning game. With Zach Britton holding down the fort at the back end of manager Buck Showalter’s bullpen, the final three outs are about as automatic as it gets these days.
Britton, a 6-foot-3 lefty, has a minuscule 0.59 ERA this season. Featuring a power sinker that bores in at an unhittable 96 m.p.h., Britton rarely needs to turn to a secondary offering to get hitters out, using the elite pitch 92 per cent of the time in the ninth inning.
Britton has held righties to a .165 batting average this season, and lefties to a .137 mark.
In other words, good luck.