Got That Dog (Days) in 'Em (Detroit Tigers (40-59) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (54-44))
What is it about the Toronto Blue Jays that make them seem built specifically to dominate in the second half?
No this is not the fabled “high-effort” posting that has been promised, but in my defence, the turnaround between the beginning of the Cardinals series and the beginning of the Tigers series hasn’t exactly given me a lot of time.
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TRANSACTIONS
While the exact transaction has not yet been announced at the time of writing, general manager Ross Atkins has confirmed that Yusei Kikuchi will be activated off the 15-Day IL to make his return to the starting rotation.
While out with a “neck injury”, Kikuchi apparently fiddled with his release point and refined his breaking ball into more of a pure slider, as opposed to the cutter it was before. His rehab start in Buffalo went fine, though he did walk three in the first inning. On a related note, how’s the trade deadline hunt going @RossAtkins???
BEST BIRDS
Hitter: Matt Chapman (5)
Meet your new Best Bird leader. Just as we all predicted.
Honourable Mentions: George Springer, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Pitcher: David Phelps (1)
The first reliever since Opening Weekend to win a Best Bird. And also the hardest one by far to find a recent picture for.
Neither starting pitcher had a good day, but there weren’t a lot of examples of good relief pitching in high-leverage situations that I could really draw upon wither.
Honourable Mentions: José Berríos, Kevin Gausman
Best Bird Standings:
Hitters:
Matt Chapman- 5
George Springer- 4
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.- 4
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.- 3
Alejandro Kirk- 3
Bo Bichette- 3
Santiago Espinal- 3
Teoscar Hernández- 2
Danny Jansen- 2
Cavan Biggio- 1
Zack Collins - 1
Pitchers:
Alek Manoah- 14
Kevin Gausman- 6
Yusei Kikuchi- 4
Ross Stripling- 3
José Berríos- 3
David Phelps- 1
Jordan Romano- 1
SCHEDULE/PROBABLE PITCHERS
Thursday, July 28 (7 p.m. EST/5 p.m. MST)
Tyler Alexander (4.05 ERA, 4.32 FIP, 12.9 K%, 5.7 BB%)
Yusei Kikuchi (5.12 ERA, 5.82 FIP, 25.1 K%, 13.9 BB%)
Friday, July 29 (7 p.m. EST/5 p.m. MST)
Bryan García (presumptive) (7.55 ERA, 6.91 FIP, 16.7 K%, 13.0 BB%)
Alek Manoah (2.24 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 23.0 K%, 5.2 BB%)
Saturday, July 30 (3 p.m. EST/1 p.m. MST)
Drew Hutchinson (4.84 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 14.9 K%, 10.8 BB%)
Ross Stripling (3.10 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 19.6 K%, 4.7 BB%)
Sunday, July 31 (12 p.m. EST/10 a.m. MST)
Garrett Hill (5.57 ERA, 5.46 FIP, 11.2 K%, 10.1 BB%)
José Berríos (5.20 ERA, 4.70 FIP, 21.5 K%, 5.6 BB%)
THE OPPOSITION
Pythagorean Record: 36-63
Season Series vs. Blue Jays: 1-2
Record since the last series vs. Blue Jays: 16-24
Last 10 games: 3-7
Best (Healthy) Players in the Series:
Gregory Soto, Relief Pitcher,
Jonathan Schoop, Second Base
Michael Fulmer, Relief Pitcher
Joe Jiménez, Relief Pitcher
Javy Báez, Shortstop