April worries bring May flurries
The Blue Jays entered this season expecting to have one of the most potent lineups in the major leagues. It took about a month longer than expected, but they’re finally starting to live up to the hype.
No team in baseball has scored more runs in May than the Jays, and they had three consecutive come-from-behind victories in sweeping the Atlanta Braves this week, ending with an 8-4 victory Thursday afternoon.
The scary part for opposing pitchers is that the Jays are putting up big numbers even with holes in the lineup. The bottom half of the batting order still hasn’t produced, and the club remains without the services of star outfielder George Springer because of a quad injury.
The lack of depth was an issue throughout much of April, but it has been a different story this month. The Jays are averaging 5.8 runs over the last 12 games, their 16 homers are second in May and their 89 strikeouts — a problem for this team in the past — are 20th.
It has been an impressive stretch, and they might be just getting started.
“I think we’re playing well,” said Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, who hit a go-ahead double in the top of the ninth inning off Braves reliever Will Smith on Thursday. “I think everybody is having pretty good at-bats, but I don’t think we’ve all clicked at the same time, to be honest. I still think there’s more for us, but obviously we’ve been playing well and it’s exciting to play some good baseball.”
The top half of the lineup has been doing the bulk of the damage. Since returning from the COVID-19 list, Teoscar Hernandez is batting .360 with five extra-base hits and 17 RBIs. Marcus Semien is riding a 12-game hitting streak while hitting .388 with three homers and five doubles over the same span.
Meanwhile, Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the only consistent performers in April, have continued to do their thing. Bichette went 2-for-5 with three RBIs in the series finale and now has 11 hits over his last seven games. Guerrero chipped in with a bloop single on Thursday and is batting .307 with a .976 OPS during his breakout season.
The bottom half of the lineup has been far less consistent. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is off to a horrific start with more strikeouts on the season than he has hits (28 vs. 24), Cavan Biggio has a below-average .676 OPS, and both Rowdy Tellez and Danny Jansen are still hitting well below .200. Reserves Jonathan Davis and Joe Panik have struggled off the bench.
Despite the poor numbers, there have been signs things could be changing. Biggio is batting .333 (7-for-21) with seven walks over his last seven games, Jansen homered in three consecutive games on the road trip, and his platoon partner, Reese McGuire, has three hits in four games since being promoted from the minors.
The Jays don’t need their bottom four hitters in the lineup to become all-stars, but they can’t be considered automatic outs either. One of the underrated components of the 2015 Jays team that went to the American League Championship Series is that guys like Chris Colabello, Kevin Pillar and Ryan Goins all had career years. A similar mix is required again. Depth is key because when one half of the lineup isn’t hitting, it usually means the opposing pitcher gets to regroup before the big guys come around for another shot. It can be the difference between delivering the knockout blow or letting the other team off the ropes.
“If anything, you kind of amp yourself up even for those, and say, ‘I have the advantage here, these guys are struggling, they’re scuffling, get them out, get a little momentum going into the top of the order,’ ” said Blue Jays starter Ross Stripling, who was talking about the lower part of the Braves’ lineup but could have just as easily been referencing his teammates.
“I think back to my time in the National League, a lot of times you have a catcher in the eight-hole and the pitcher in the nine hole. It’s like, ‘OK, sync up my stuff here, mow these guys down, get a little confidence going and then you’ll head into the top of the lineup where you have to get through them.’ ”
There’s been a lot less of that lately. In April, the Jays ranked 17th in the majors with 107 runs. After Thursday’s game they were seventh, despite playing in fewer games than all but two teams ahead of them.
When combined with solid pitching — which the Jays received in Atlanta as Robbie Ray, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Stripling combined to allow five runs across 18 innings — it will almost always lead to success.
The Jays now find themselves four games above .500 for the first time this season and their 20-16 record was good enough for a share of second place with the New York Yankees entering play Thursday night. Boston, after a hot start to the season, is just one game ahead.
Considering everything the Jays have been through so far this year — the sluggish April, the countless number of injuries and a positive COVID-19 test — they should feel perfectly content with where they are as a team right now. With a bit of luck and continued production from the lineup, they’ll be even better off once the summer months roll around.