Another week has come and gone for the Toronto Blue Jays as the page turns to their home away from home in Buffalo at Sahlen Field.
Before we look ahead to their next set of games against the Marlins and the Rays, here are three takeaways from the week that was.
Guerrero shows some life
It hasn’t been a fun start to the 2020 season for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Before starting their three-game series against the Atlanta Braves, Guerrero Jr. was slashing .172/.200/.476 with just one home run, one RBI, and seven strikeouts. Whether there is some excuse for the poor performance, it’s a start that many Blue Jays fans wanted to forget.
After being mixed around third and fourth in the batting order, Manager Charlie Montoyo dropped him fifth, which may have been the spark that Guerrero needed.
In the week that passed, Vladdy hiked up his slashing numbers to .353/.450/.588 with four doubles. Despite not hitting a home run and only batting in two runs, he showed more patience at the plate, striking out only twice and walking three times.
Whether Vladdy will stay in the middle of the batting order or not, it’s a step in the right direction for the young slugger who looks to follow up his 17-for-20 performance in the week to come.
Errors galore on the base pads
In their three-game series in Boston against the Red Sox, if there was one word that the Blue Jays seemed to forget, it was ‘baserunning.’
For most of the series, the Blue Jays made many fundamental errors with runners on base that could have cashed in runs and potentially leave Boston with a winning record.
The first of three big blunders came in their Friday matchup on August 7th. As Guerrero brings home Tellez from first with a double, he figured if Red Sox second baseman Jose Peraza would put his attention toward Tellez making it home, he’d have a clear path to third.
Unfortunately, given that Guerrero doesn’t have speed on the basepaths and had a late reaction to Peraza’s throw to home, it spelled disaster. The last thing you would want is having your first out at third, especially if Grichuk singled in the next at-bat.
The second came the following night in the top of the third. As Biggio stepped up to the plate with one out, Tellez was caught leaning too far out from first. The Red Sox capitalized on the mistake and nailed him on the rundown.
Like Guerrero’s situation the night before, Tellez also doesn’t have the speed even to consider stealing a base. Not to mention, the batting lineup flipped right back to the top of the order.
The final blunder came later in the game in the top of the sixth. Following a base hit by Guerrero, Travis Shaw took a gamble from second base as third-base coach Luis Rivera gave him the green light to run to home.
Although Red Sox outfielder Kevin Pillar made a poor through, catcher Christian Vazquez had a read on it and tagged Shaw for the out.
Simply put, it was a bad decision to send Shaw home. With Guerrero’s base hit not going deep into the outfield, it provided enough time for Pillar to make the throw to home.
Aside from that, the decision to also challenge the plate with two outs is also a risky move. Guerrero’s base hit would’ve put the Blue Jays in a bases-loaded situation. A hit into any gap in the next at-bat from Grichuk not only would have tied the game but most likely given the Blue Jays the lead with a runner like Teoscar Hernandez on second.
In just two games, the Blue Jays have shown that discipline is crucial in tight ballgames, and opportunities need to be presented for those who are stepping up to the plate.
The bullpen continues to shine
While the Blue Jays finished their recent week of play at 2-4, one of the bigger positives that came out was the bullpen's effective work.
Anthony Kay has emerged as a reliable arm for relief as he only allowed two hits in 5.1 innings of relief with six strikeouts. While Chase Anderson was limited in his 2020 debut, Kay has shown that should the Blue Jays need relief for an extended period, Kay would potentially be the go-to man.
Then there’s Jordan Romano, who only needs two words to explain his performance since the first game of the season: lights out.
Romano may arguably be the Jays’ best reliever, not allowing a hit in any of his seven appearances so far in the season. He’s racked up ten strikeouts and three walks, two of which happened on opening day (July 24th) and his third in his latest appearance against the Red Sox on August 8th.
Romano leads the team’s relievers in most games played, and if he continues to show his dominance on the mound, don’t expect that to change.
Finally, there’s Anthony Bass. Since Ken Giles’ injury on July 27th (right forearm strain) following the Rays game, Bass stepped into the closer role and picked up the saves when needed.
Despite the lack of strikeouts, Bass has converted each of his save opportunities in the last week while only allowing a hit and not walking a batter. As the Blue Jays can only stay optimistic for Giles to return from the 10-day IL, Bass could continue to close out games for the Blue Jays.
Whenever Giles does step back on the mount, given Bass’ recent success, it would be yet another vital piece for the middle relief to add on what already looks like a reasonably solid bullpen.
Any other comments or takeaways from the Blue Jays’ outings between the Braves and the Red Sox? Leave a comment below or tweet at me @taboada93
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