The Toronto Blue Jays were left for dead by some after a horrific start to the season, but here they are, clawing back into the race for the American League East. While they still sit in last place, Toronto has improved to just one game under .500 by winning eight of its past 10 and sit 5.5 games behind the division-leading New York Yankees.
The teams will face off this week in a critical series for the Blue Jays as they aim to inch closer to the rest of the pack. New York is playing well and wants to stay ahead of the talented teams in the division, and this should be an intriguing showdown packed full of offensive firepower.
This series will be contested from Thursday, June 1 through Sunday, June 4, 2017 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Thursday, Friday and Saturday’s games will be broadcast on MLB Network.
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Pitching Matchups
The Blue Jays will begin the series by sending Marco Estrada to the hill. He is 4-2 on the season with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. The Yankees will counter with veteran C.C. Sabathia, who is no longer the ace of old. Sabathia has a 5-2 record but a 4.42 ERA as he doesn’t have the same velocity on his fastball any longer.
In the second game of the series, Toronto is scheduled to send out Francisco Liriano, who will be fresh off the disabled list. He is 2-2 with a 6.35 ERA and has been very wild to begin the season. Liriano has great stuff but has to stop giving batters free passes and getting himself into jams. The Yankees will have the pitching advantage as they send Michael Pineda to the hill. He is 6-2 with a 3.32 ERA and has finally put it all together this season.
On Saturday, the Blue Jays are slated to start Joe Biagini, who has gone 1-3 with a 3.64 ERA. He was a reliever to start the year but has done pretty well since moving to the rotation. New York hopes to get a good effort out of Jordan Montgomery. He is 2-4 with a 4.11 ERA and has some nice strikeout numbers.
In the series finale, the Blue Jays are scheduled to throw Marcus Stroman, who is 6-2 with a 3.28 ERA. He is a top-end starter and will aim to quiet the potent Yankees offense. New York will send out Luis Severino, and this is one game which could be low scoring as he is 4-2 with a 2.93 ERA and peripheral statistics to match. Severino is striking out more than a batter per inning.
Injury Report
Third basemen Josh Donaldson and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki returned from injury last week, and the Blue Jays infielders promise to provide a big boost to Toronto’s lineup and its defense.
Donaldson went down with a calf injury in mid-April and Tulowitzki joined him there a week later with hamstring injury. Both players are key pieces for the Blue Jays, batting in the middle of the order. Donaldson, especially, is usually one the short list for MVP candidates and really helps the club.
Tulowitzki hit a grand slam in the Blue Jays’ 17-2 win against the Reds on Monday, his second home run of the season. Donaldson hit his third home run of the season on Wednesday in the final game of the series against Cincinnati, a two-run shot that reached the fifth deck of Rogers Centre.
Player to Watch
Aaron Hicks -- The Yankees outfielder is filling in for an injured Jacoby Ellsbury in center field. Hicks was previously getting consistent at-bats but now he’s playing every day.
Many teams would suffer without the services of their standout center fielder, but the Yankees have impressive depth. Hicks is hitting .297 this season with an on-base percentage of .427. He has eight homers, 24 RBIs and a fantastic OPS of .970.
Hicks, who struggled at the plate last season, is the fourth outfielder in the depth chart for the Yankees but has moved seamlessly into the lineup. He is making a strong case for more playing time, as he is younger than Ellsbury and Brett Gardner and would love to be a foundational piece in the outfield alongside Aaron Judge.
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