Series Preview: Toronto Blue Jays (7-9) vs. Boston Red Sox (11-6)
I didn’t watch enough of the Jays’ series in Kansas City to warrant a series recap, and all the better, really. The bats outside of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette still haven’t hit their stride, and the pitching depth is rail-thin outside of Hyun-Jin Ryu and Steven Matz, who’s looking like found money at this point. Brady Singer’s two-seam fastball is now a permanent fixture in my nightmares. Typical April.
Injuries to George Springer and the pitching staff haven’t helped, but you get the feeling that this team should be doing much better than their 7-9 record indicates (which their 9-7 Pythagorean record would suggest). One of the biggest consolations on the season has been just how poorly the 5-10 Yankees have played, and therefore, the delicious, sheer despondence of Yankees fans.
Still, it’s April. Only three and a half games are separating the first-place Boston Red Sox and the last place dogshit, Triple-A New York Yankees There are 156 games left to go in the regular season, and a lacklustre start shouldn’t be enough to ruin the party. Just like a strong start from the Red Sox doesn’t mean they're good. I will not reconsider either of these positions until maybe June. Fuck it, November. I don’t care how scary their lineup is, and I don’t care if they win a World Series. I would sooner die than admit that Boston has anything better than a fourth-place team.
Speaking of the Red Sox, they’re the Blue Jay’s next opponent in a short two-game series at Fenway Park, where Rowdy Tellez will hopefully reprise his role as the Red Sox’s father. And JAYSLAM, as always, is here with a short, sweet preview of what is going to be an unpredictable pair of games. If you like that JAYSLAM is here, providing fresh Jay-related #content multiple times a week, consider sharing this post with a pal!
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Now on to two of the few Blue Jays who had solid series in Kansas City.
BEST BIRDS
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2) 15 plate appearances, .385/.467/.923, 280 wRC+, 0.05 WPA
Steven Matz (2) 6 innings, 21 batters faced, 2 hits, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks, 4.44 xFIP, 68 Game Score v2, 0.33 WPA, spin machine.
ROSTER/INJURY UPDATES
In good news, Teoscar Hernández is healthy and symptom-free.
George Springer is nearing 100%. It sounds like he might be ready for the Jays homestand starting April 27 against the Washington Nationals. Fingers crossed, at least!
The Jays plan to stretch Thomas Hatch out as a starter once he’s back from his injury. Given how, uh, “slight” the Jays’ rotation looks at the moment, that’s not surprising. It appears to be slow-going though.
Julian Merryweather is also moving slowly, which one would expect upon suffering an oblique injury.
In a similar vein, Nate Pearson continues to make his way back. No estimated return date yet, but he’s said to be further along than Hatch.
Jordan Romano is expected to return from ulnar neuritis as soon as he’s eligible to on April 25.
Tyler Chatwood was also reported to be slated to return from the IL as soon as he was eligible on April 19, but at the time of writing on April 20, there hasn’t been any news on that front.
David Phelps still appears to be day-to-day with a back contusion, as he sat out the entire Kansas City series after getting absolutely nailed right in the back by a line drive against the Yankees.
With Stripling out, and both Tanner Roark and T.J. Zeuch making relief appearances on Sunday, it’s not clear who’s going to start the second game against Boston on Wednesday. The early favourite, in my opinion, would be Anthony Kay, who pitched fine in a short outing on Thursday, his 10.80 ERA mostly owing to bad luck, by the looks of it (he has a 1.67 xERA and 2.33 xFIP).
Update:
T.J. Zeuch has been placed on the 10-day IL with right shoulder tendinitis. He’s been replaced on the 26-man roster by Santiago Espinal.
SCHEDULE/PROBABLE PITCHERS
Tuesday, April 20 (7 p.m. EST/5 p.m. MST): Hyun-Jin Ryu vs. Eduardo Rodríguez
Ryu: Three starts, 19 innings, 1.89 ERA/2.96 xERA/2.59 xFIP, 26 K%, 2.7 BB%, .245 xBA Against, 32.7 HardHit%
Rodríguez: Two starts, 10 innings, 3.60 ERA/3.00 xERA/2.37 xFIP, 30 K%, 2.5 BB%, .256 xBA Against, 29.6 HardHit%
Wednesday, April 21 (7 p.m. EST/5 p.m. MST): Anthony Kay (presumptive) vs. Garrett Richards
Kay: One start, 3 ⅓ innings pitched, 10.80 ERA/1.67 xERA/2.33 xFIP, 18.8 K%, 0 BB%, .220 xBA Against, 23.1 HardHit%
Richards: 3 starts, 12 innings, 6.00 ERA/4.49 xERA/5.62 xFIP, 16.9 K%, 11.9 BB%, .269 xBA Against, 40.5 HardHit%
THE OPPOSITION
Pythagorean Record: 11-6
Run differential: +28 (96 runs scored, 68 runs allowed)
After an utterly forgettable 2020 season in which they finished last in the AL East behind even the lowly Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox fired lame-duck manager Ron Roenicke and brought back Alex Cora, who led Boston to a World Series title in 2018 before being sacked in January 2020 in the wake of the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal (Cora had been the Astros’ bench coach during their now-tainted 2017 World Series run).
Beyond the manager, the Red Sox traded underperforming Andrew Benintendi to the Royals for Franchy Cordero, traded for Adam Ottavino from the Yankees, as well as signed Kiké Hernández, Hunter Renfroe, Marwin González, Garrett Richards, Matt Andriese, and Hirokazu Sawamura. The newcomers would complement an already strong offensive core of Alex Verdugo, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Christian Vazquéz, and Bobby Dalbec, as well as a shaky starting rotation that includes Eduardo Rodríguez, Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Martín Pérez and, eventually, Chris Sale.
Going into 2021, most pundits, (myself included) weren’t giving Boston a whole lot of credit. All they’ve done since the start of the season is going 11-6, tied for the best record in the American League alongside the fucking Seattle Mariners, of all teams. While that’s more so a result of an early-season small sample size than a sign of an upcoming Red Sox/Mariners ALCS matchup, the Red Sox’s offensive success (aside from Renfroe, González, and the thus-far disappointing rookie first baseman, Dalbec) has been very real. Martinez has been the best hitter by far, posting a 243 wRC+ for the season at this point, the second-best in baseball behind Ronald Acuña Jr.
The starting rotation, while mostly solid, has been less dominant. Eovaldi and Rodríguez have been solid thus far, and Pivetta has outperformed his peripherals. Richards and Pérez, on the other hand, have been burned in the ERA department. For the Red Sox’s success to continue, the offence needs to continue to fire on all cylinders, and the rotation needs to hold the fort until Chris Sale comes back healthy and hopefully effective. In the meantime, they’ll hope to keep the good times going against their division rivals, who are hoping to get things back on track after a forgettable series in Kansas City to start their road trip.
Loved this! Keep it up!