A Birds' Franchise.....

[enyc718]

Blue Jays Report

Not much to report on the Blue Jays thus far. They face a 4-game set versus the Houston Astros. The Astros go into the series with a 17-17 record.

Series Probables
Aaron Sanchez (1-2) vs Roberto Hernandez (1-3)
Marcus Stroman (3-1) vs Dallas Keuchel (2-2)
R.A. Dickey (3-3) vs Collin McHugh (4-2)
Mark Buerhle (2-5) vs Brett Oberholtzer (4-1)

The Astros shortstop, Jed Lowrie goes into the series 9-24 in his last seven games with a .375 batting average.

Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons indicated Kevin Pillar will atleast start 3 of the 4 games vs the Astros in this series.

[enyc718]

Aaron Sanchez Shuts the 'Stros Down

Blue Jays 17-18 @ Astros 17-17

Game Recap:

With Dalton Pompey struggling, Kevin Pillar indeed got the start in CF. Pillar goes 2-3 with a walk. It was a scoreless game until the top of the 6th when Jose Bautista & Josh Donaldson hit back to back jacks. Donaldson would homer again in the 8th, this time a 2-run shot to give the Aaron Sanchez a 4 run lead. Aaron Sanchez who was getting squeezed by the home plate ump, wouldn't let that bother him as he had the Astros swinging and missing all game long. Sanchez would have a no hitter going until Jason Castro broke that up in the 6th inning. Sanchez finished off the Astros by striking out Chris Carter for the 4th time in the game. John Gibbons was convinced by Aaron Sanchez to not be pulled finishing the 1-hit shutout at 119 pitches. This was the second 1-hit game a Blue Jays starter has pitched.

[enyc718]

Encarnacion's Power Surge Continues....

Blue Jays (18-18) @ Astros (17-18)

Game Recap:

Edwin Encarnacion continues to put a hurt on the baseball. A 2-run shot in the top of the first by Encarnacion was cut in half in the bottom of the 1st as Jose Altuve singled in a run.

In the 4th, the Jays put up a 6 spot. Michael Saunders contributed that inning with a 2-run shot to right, scoring Jose Reyes. The Jays went up 7-1. Nine batters went to the plate for the Blue Jays, 6 of them scored. Dallas Keuchel was knocked out of the game early.

Dallas Keuchel's final line:
3.2 IP, 9H, 7ER

[enyc718]

Astros Late Inning Runs Get Them a Win

Blue Jays (19-18) @ Astros (18-18)

Game Recap:

Good pitching matchup today between R.A. Dickey and Colin McHugh. Colby Rasmus hit his 5th homerun of the year in the bottom of the 2nd. Jose Reyes would tie the game up at one with a sac fly in the 5th. But it was Jason Castro's 2-run shot in the eight that sealed the game for the Astros.

[enyc718]

Toronto Takes Game 4 & Series....

Blue Jays (19-19) @ Astros (18-20)

Game Recap:

Toronto put the stamp on this 4-game series by scoring 3 runs in three different innings. Kevin Pillar getting the 3rd start this series, as was promised by manager John Gibbons, is 7 for 19 in his last 5 games coming into this one.

Jose Altuve doubled in Luis Valbuena in the 1st. Altuve would score on an Evan Gattis single to put the Astros up 2-0. Chris Carter, who has done absolutely nothing all series, hits a 3-run shot to right. That puts the Astros up 5-1. In the top of the 4th, after Justin Smoak makes it 5-2 with an RBI double, Russell Martin hits a 2-run shot to make it 5-4. In the top of the 4th, Bautista scores for the 3rd time and the tying run in the game on Smoak's base hit. Kevin Pillar followed with a 2-run homer to make it 7-5 in the fifth. That knocked Brett Oberholtzer out of the game.

Russell Martin put the game away in the top of the 7th, Martin doubled to center, that scores Bautista, Smoak and Pillar scores on throwing error.

Manager John Gibbons: "It's always nice to score runs and win ballgames. We need to continue this trend."

Milestone: Jose Bautista hit his 250th career homerun in the top of the 2nd.

Struggling 2nd Baseman: Devon Travis is definitely on a cold streak as of late, going 2 for 19 in his last 5 games.

[enyc718]

Blue Jays Report

Toronto was contemplating on if second baseman Devon Travis should be sent down to the minors but an injury to Ryan Goines has put a stop to that notion. Goines has a shoulder tear and will be out 1-2 months.

Manager Gibbons had this to say: "There is no doubt Devon is struggling and he's putting extra time in the cages to correct his mechanics. We need him to get going. Really it's not just Devon, its our top of the lineup, especially our 1-2 hitters. We got home to a tough series against the Angels next and we'll be shuffling the lineup card a bit. I mean it's nice to lead the league in homeruns, but if you look at the majority of them, they've been solo shots. We're leaving runs out there by bad base running. We need to wise up on the base paths a little and make better decisions."

We definitely got a little more out of John Gibbons than we were expecting. But everything he said is true. Makes you wonder if Jose Reyes, the leadoff hitter, will sit the bench or moved lower in the lineup.

Lets take a look at the back of Jose Reyes's baseball card thus far:

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Minority Report

Lets look at two players in AAA ball who are playing well, including a 38 yr old who is trying to make it back to the majors.

Also, Mark Buerhle, who is set to become a free agent this year. Numerous reports have come out that he could be a trading chip by this years deadline. But many GMs around the league are don't think the Blue Jays can get much in return. His pitching stats could explain that. We've heard no comments from the Blue Jays front office.

[enyc718]

A couple of moves for the Jays before facing the Angels.