Sink, Florida, Sink (Series Preview: Toronto Blue Jays (85-67) vs. Minnesota Twins (67-85))
Stupid, stupid bullshit ruled the day in St. Petersburg, as the Jay’s series loss against the Tampa Bay Rays was overshadowed by idiocy surrounding Kevin Kiermaier and Alejandro Kirk’s cue card. I’m not going to get into it, because any second worth thinking about that incident and the bullshit machismo that surrounded not only the games but a portion of the online fanbase is better spent doing literally anything else. Like focusing on the fact that the Jays, thanks to not only a sloppy series in Tampa Bay but the contemptible ineptitude of the Texas Rangers and New York Mets, have yo-yo’d back out of a playoff spot and have lost their first series since that awful Tigers home series in August! God damn it!
Well. Nevertheless. Despite the torture that comes with playing in that godforsaken Cthulhu’s Asshole of a ballpark, the Jays still have a great chance of snagging a Wild Card Spot. The only meaningful thing that’s changed is that Boston has a solid chance of clinching home field advantage. I refuse to be convinced of anything being particularly telling about the Yankees sweeping the pitiful fucking Rangers. Though it is fair to say that the importance of next week’s three game series against the Yankees has been magnified.
Before we get into some news, Best Bird awards, and the upcoming four-game series against the Minnesota Twins, if you like what Jayslam is doing, please consider sharing this post with a pal who may be interested! Or an enemy! I’m happy with either.
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SCOREBOARD WATCHING
Both the Red Sox and Yankees have unfortunately been on a surge, with both teams sweeping their opponents in the lowly Mets and Rangers and gaining two games on the Blue Jays. They’ll each take a day off before facing each other at Fenway Park, which should definitely be an interesting three-game series to monitor.
The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners will today be playing the fourth and final game of their series, with the Mariners looking for the four game sweep, which would be a pretty critical blow to the A’s playoff hopes. Afterwards, Oakland will host the Astros while the Mariners will head to Anaheim for a three game set against the Angels.
TRANSACTION NEWS
On Wednesday, utilityman Breyvic Valera was placed on the COVID IL due to a family member testing positive. Valera is vaccinated, but will still be kept on the IL for contact tracing purposes, though the Jays hope he’ll be back soon. Replacing him on the active roster for now is Kevin Smith.
BEST BIRDS
Hitter: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (5) 12 plate appearances, .364/.417/.909, 10 total bases, 4 Weighted Runs Created, 0.23 Win Probability Added, 0.33 WPA/LI
Gurriel and Vladdy were the two standouts in St. Petersburg, though they were only able to do so much, as the rest of the team just was not able to get on base at a consistent clip for the whole set.
Honourable Mentions: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Teoscar Hernández
Pitcher: Alek Manoah (8) 6 innings, 27 batters faced, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 7 strikeouts, 6 walks, 4.33 FIP, 0.08 Win Probability Added, -0.03 WPA/LI
There weren’t really any good options when it came to pitchers. Alek Manoah got through six but really struggled with his control. Robbie Ray didn’t look great, the high leverage relievers were some combination of shaky or not active enough to really warrant a nod. Anthony Castro and Nate Pearson looked good, but neither appeared in especially high leverage.
In the end, Manoah gets it for gutting it out despite struggling with command and not having his best stuff. Bonus points for his solid job translating for Lourdes Gurriel Jr., as seen above.
Honourable Mentions: Anthony Castro, Nate Pearson
BEST BIRD STANDINGS
Hitters:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.- 13 (clinched)
Bo Bichette- 8
Marcus Semien- 7
George Springer- 7
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.- 5
Teoscar Hernández- 3
Joe Panik- 2 (now on the Miami Marlins)
Randal Grichuk- 2
Santiago Espinal- 1 (10-day IL)
Cavan Biggio- 1 (10-day IL)
Pitchers:
Robbie Ray- 14 (clinched)
Hyun Jin Ryu- 9
Alek Manoah- 8
Ross Stripling- 4
Steven Matz- 4
José Berríos- 3
Julian Merryweather- 2
Adam Cimber- 1
Trevor Richards- 1
Anthony Kay- 1 (Triple-A)
Anthony Castro- 1
Ryan Borucki- 1
SCHEDULE/PROBABLE PITCHERS
Thursday, September 23 (7:30 p.m. EST/5:30 p.m. MST): Steven Matz vs. Michael Pineda
Friday, September 24 (8 p.m. EST/6 p.m. MST): José Berríos vs. Bailey Ober
Saturday, September 25 (7 p.m./5 p.m.) Robbie Ray vs. TBD
Sunday, September 26 (2 p.m./12 p.m.) Alek Manoah vs. Griffin Jax
THE OPPOSITION
Pythagorean Record: 66-86
Run differential: -108 (684 runs scored, 792 runs allowed)
Season Series vs. Blue Jays: 1-2
Record since the last series vs. Blue Jays: 1-2
Last 10 games: 4-6
Best Players:
(stats as of September 22)
Jorge Polanco, Second Base/Shortstop, .272/.326/.510, 125 wRC+
Byron Buxton, Center Field, .286/.330/.582, 145 wRC+
Josh Donaldson, Third Base, .251/.351/.480, 125 wRC+
Luis Arráez, Super Utility, .285/.355/.367, 100 wRC+
Bailey Ober, Starting Pitcher, 4.34 ERA/4.06 xFIP, 25.1 K%, 5.3 BB%
Underperformers:
(stats as of September 22)
Andrelton Simmons, Shortstop, .223/.285/.277, 58 wRC+
Griffin Jax, Starting Pitcher, 6.75 ERA/5.71 xFIP, 18.6 K%, 8.4 BB%
Miguel Sanó, First Base, .222/.307/.473, 110 wRC+