With the All-Star game tonight in Minnesota, let’s look at the Toronto Blue Jays so far this season.
The Blue Jays have played 96 games so far this season and have a record of 49-47, good for second place in the American League East, and four games back of the Baltimore Orioles and 2.5 games back of the Seattle Mariners for a wild card spot. The Blue Jays were in first place in their division for a good deal of June thanks to a nine game winning streak in late May.
The Jays have collected 431 runs on 844 hits, including 162 doubles, 15 triples, and 116 home runs with 411 RBI. The Blue Jays rank sixth in batting average (.258), fourth in OBP (.425), third in slugging (.422), and third in slugging (.747). Their 116 home runs are tops in the the M.L.B. while they rank fourth in runs and RBI. They are the fifth most walked team in the league (310) and 10th in strikeouts at 678.
Mark Buehrle started the season with a record of 10-1, but has seen the team’s run support drop since then, going 0-5 since June 1st in seven starts. Edwin Encarnación was the American League Player of the Month for May after he hit a team record of 16 home runs in May. He currently ranks third in the American League in home runs with 26 (three behind Jose Abreu.
The Blue Jays currently need an everyday second baseman, and need help with pitching, especially the bullpen.
Their pitching breaks down as follows: their E.R.A. ranks a horrible 11th in the league, have blown 13 saves, are ranked fifth in home runs given up (38), have given up 326 walks (only the Chicago White Sox have given up more), and are ranked ninth in strikeouts at 689. The Blue Jays need to give up fewer runs and walks if they want to win games and make it to the playoffs.
The Blue Jays need to start collecting more hits (and subsequently runs) while giving up fewer runs. Until then, the Blue Jays will continue to lose games this season.
Edward Brain's Blog 