The Toronto Blue Jays were determined not to see their season end before it began. After a brutal beginning of the season, Toronto has rattled off five consecutive victories to get back to within four games of .500. The Blue Jays will aim to stay hot when they host the Atlanta Braves to begin the week.
While Toronto still has some work to prove it can make a playoff push, the outlook is considerably less bleak than a week ago. The Braves also got off to a slow start but haven’t improved as they are in the midst of a rebuilding phase and are expected to be among the worst teams in baseball.
The Blue Jays are still in last place in the American League East but are showing signs of life and should be able to keep it rolling at home against Atlanta.
This series will be contested from Monday, May 15 through Thursday, May 18, 2017 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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Pitching Matchups
The series will begin with a matchup between Toronto starter Mike Bolsinger and New York’s Bartolo Colon. Bolsinger came up for a start on May 9 and threw well, allowing only two earned runs in 5.2 innings pitched. However, his career ERA is only 4.57 so expectations shouldn’t be too high. Colon is 1-4 with an ugly 7.22 ERA, as batters are hitting better than .300 against him on the year.
In the Tuesday game, the Blue Jays are scheduled to send Marco Estrada to the mound. He is 2-2 with a 3.12 ERA striking out 53 batters in 49 innings. He could very well shut down the Braves’ lineup if his stuff is playing up. The Braves will counter with Jaime Garcia, who is 1-2 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. The Blue Jays definitely have the pitching advantage in this one.
The third game of the series will feature the Blue Jays’ Joe Biagini against the Braves’ Mike Foltynewicz. Biagini has a 2.28 ERA on the season but most of the work has been as a reliever. He did start throw five shutout innings against the Mariners on May 12 and would love similar results in this one. Foltynewicz is 1-4 with a 4.04 ERA on the season and a 1.35 WHIP. He picked up his first win of the season last time out, allowing only one run in six innings of work against the Marlins.
A pair of talented starters are slated to be featured in the series finale. Toronto is scheduled to send Marcus Stroman to the mound. He is 3-2 with a 3.33 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Stroman has 40 strikeouts against 14 walks on the season, a solid ratio. The Braves are scheduled to throw Julio Teheran. He is 3-3 with a 4.08 ERA, although he has a 1.42 WHIP and needs to improve his peripheral numbers or else he could be in for a down season.
Key Stat
10. That’s how many games under .500 the Blue Jays were on May 6 after a 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Since then, Toronto has played very well, racking up seven victories in eight tries. The Blue Jays won the series finale against Tampa Bay to get a split, and then won two of three against the defending American League champion Cleveland Indians. Toronto really got it rolling against the Seattle Mariners, sweeping a four-game set and holding Seattle to two runs or fewer in every game.
Toronto’s lineup hasn’t been as impressive as in recent years, but if it heats up the pitching can hold up like it has done in the recent winning streak, the team could become a playoff hopeful.
The Yankees are atop the AL East and look good, but Toronto is still within 6.5 games of them early in the season with plenty of time to make up ground.
Player To Watch
Freddie Freeman. The Braves are in the bottom third in runs per game in the National League, but their star first baseman is certainly doing what he can to keep the offense afloat. Freeman is batting .344 on the season with 12 homers, 20 RBIs and a 1.197 OPS. Freeman is leading the team in nearly every offensive category and has been one of the best hitters in the major leagues early on.
When you are keeping company with players like Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, things are going very well. Freeman has always been a good hitter, but his lack of big-time home run totals kept him from being truly elite. However, he had 34 homers last season and is on pace for even more this season, transforming into one of the most dangerous hitters in the game.
The Braves don’t have very many sluggers, so Toronto would be wise to pitch around Freeman when needed in this series.
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