Series Preview, Staving Off Sleep Deprivation Edition (Toronto Blue Jays (17-13) vs. New York Yankees (20-8))
It was another tough series over the weekend, as the Jays continue to struggle to find an offensive groove, dropping three of four to the Cleveland Guardians. The second consecutive series loss is discouraging, to be sure, as your obnoxious Facebook relatives who seem to forget everything about how baseball works every year come the first losing streak, and yet are insistent that Charlie Montoya has gotta go, will be happy to tell you. Thankfully, the Maple Leafs still kicking around in the Stanley Cup playoffs has delayed the arrival of the most reactionary elements of the Jays’ fanbase, just enough time to correct the record against the stupid New York Yankees in the Bronx. Easier said than done, as the Yankees have been on an absolute tear, recently, and while the Jays are still overall in a great position considering the torturous month of baseball they’ve played (17-13 in 30 games against tough opponents compared to 16-14 in 30 last year against softer rivals) they would love not to squander the jump start they got in the month of April.
This post will be a noticeably shorter one. Unfortunately, revenues from subscriptions to JAYSLAM are not enough for me to subsist on them for a part-time, much less full-time, basis. This means that I have to get up early in the morning after a day of work to provide for the lifestyle to which I’ve grown accustomed to, as much as I’d like to stay home and write about Santiago Espinal’s Statcast page all night. If this is your first time visiting, or you’ve been enjoying Jayslam for a while now, and if you want to see more of it and/or support its continued existence, please consider getting a paid subscription! The more I can lean financially on paid subscriptions, the more time I can dedicate to everyone’s favourite lightly deranged Toronto Blue Jays blog disguised as a Substack newsletter.
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TRANSACTION NEWS
The Blue Jays got a key piece of the offensive puzzle back on Saturday, as Teoscar Hernández was activated from the 10-day IL, and while he didn’t light Cleveland’s river on fire single-handedly, he figures to be a massive shot in the arm for a lineup that frankly is in glaring need of one. Ryan Borucki also made his return, as both Casey Lawrence and Julian Merryweather (who sported some good peripherals, but whose high-90s fastball was getting tuned up by hitters to a .494 Expected Batting Average) were optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. Gosuke Katoh was claimed off waivers by the Mets, marking the end of a brief but memorable tenure with the Blue Jays.
BEST BIRDS
Hitter: Santiago Espinal (2)
(Very Long Halloween voice) I believe in Santiago Espinal.
Honourable Mentions: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer
Pitcher: Kevin Gausman (3)
Honourable Mentions: Yimi García, Trevor Richards, Alek Manoah
Best Bird Standings:
Hitters:
Santiago Espinal- 2
George Springer- 2
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.- 2
Bo Bichette- 1
Zack Collins - 1
Danny Jansen- 1
Pitchers:
Alek Manoah- 4
Kevin Gausman- 3
Yusei Kikuchi- 1
Jordan Romano- 1
SCHEDULE/PROBABLE PITCHERS
Tuesday, May 10 (7 p.m. EST/5 p.m. MST)
Yusei Kikuchi (4.35 ERA, 5.75 FIP, 21.5 K%, 15.1 BB%, 31.2 HardContact%)
Luis Severino (3.75 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 22.3 K%, 6.8 BB%, 25.2 HardContact%)
Wednesday, May 11 (12:30 p.m. EST/10:30 a.m. MST)
José Berríos (5.34 ERA, 5.24 FIP, 14.8 K%, 7.4 BB%, 38.3 HardContact%)
Jameson Taillon (2.84 ERA, 3.31 FIP, 20 K%, 1.9 BB%, 28.2 HardContact%)
THE OPPOSITION
Pythagorean Record: 20-8 (124 Runs Scored, 75 Runs Allowed)
Season Series vs. Blue Jays: 4-3
Record since the last series vs. Blue Jays: 2-0
Last 10 games: 9-1
Best (Healthy) Players in the Series:
Aaron Judge, Right Field, .283/.349/.616, 186 wRC+
Michael King, Relief Pitcher, 1.42 ERA, 1.44 FIP, 40 K%, 5.7 BB%, 24.3 HardContact%
Anthony Rizzo, First Base, .237/.357/.557, 169 wRC+
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Shortstop, .288/.337/.363, 110 wRC+
D.J. LeMahieu, Utility Infield, /289/.354/.411, 132 wRC+