Game Threat: Tulo returns to the lineup for another Junk Bird drumming, Blue Jays (39-31) vs Orioles (38-28)

Holy shit, Michael Saunders! Tulo is back! Mike Wright got sent to Triple-A! Bob McCown is trying to convince us that Jose Bautista is getting traded! Let’s see another absolute drumming of the trash birds! Fuck Baltimore! Let’s go!

There was a looooooooot of great stuff about yesterday’s game, because, well, the Jays kicked the living shit out of the Orioles at Camden Yards, reminding the fans in Baltimore that they cheer for a junk-ass garbage team (hence why the O in Orioles stands for Objectively Trash). 

The star of the day for the Jays was Michael Saunders of course, because he had the game of his life, clubbing three home runs and eight RBIs AND he topped it off with a modest, good ol’ Canadian Kid interview with Barry Davis afterwords saying the most important thing was grabbing the win, of course. Saunders’ home run derby added to the already fantastic season he’s having, as he’s currently sitting second in the American League in OPS (0.999) behind only David Ortiz. 

So after a brief delay, Troy Tulowitzki has been activated from the 15-day DL and will rejoin the team, as Andy Burns has been optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding roster move. As Arden Zwelling says, the Jays will keep all of Barney, Tulo, Travis, and Goins, and apparently, Goins will be used in a super utility role, in which he’ll do everything but pitch and play catcher. 

In his one rehab appearance in Dunedin, Tulo went 1/4 with a couple of strikeouts. Regardless, it’s nice to have his bat back in the lineup, because as we know, it can start to heat up at any time, and to be honest, I would wet my pants at the sight of him, Josh, and Edwin all rolling at the same time. 

Then, there’s, uh, this? 

Zwelling was quick to let us know that Bob McCown is full of shit when it comes to the golf tournament, but that said, nobody has dispelled whether or not Jose actually expects to be traded. I mean, he can still have his charity golf tournament even if he’s dealt. 

Anyways, as Matt points out, Bob McCown is, uh, usually wrong… About a lot of things. So I don’t know if this is actually a reason to panic. 

And Gregor Chisholm agrees, too, that this seems like junk, especially with the Jays playing the way they are with this year being a legit chance to win it all.

And I’ll finish this part of with something positive, just in case you’re genuinely worried about this Bautista stuff. Hutch has been pitching very, very well in Buffalo, and he’s having arguably his best start of the season today. It’s pretty obvious that he wants to be the guy called upon when Aaron Sanchez is inevitably moved to the bullpen, and he’s reminding the Jays’ brass that he was last season’s Opening Day starter for a reason.

R.A. Dickey will grab the ball for the Jays, which, well, you never really know with him, to be honest. He’s been good recently, though, there’s no denying that. In his past four starts, he’s managed to keep the other team to three or fewer runs, and he’s done a solid job at keeping the ball in the park. Also, for his career, he has a 3.32 ERA at Camden Yards, which probably doesn’t really mean much. 

This will be the first time the Blue Jays have faced Yovani Gallardo since Game 1 of the ALDS against the Texas Rangers, and as we all know, he had a really, really good time against the Jays lineup last year. Actually, if you take into consideration both the regular season and playoffs, the Jays lost four games to Texas last year, and three of those wins were with Gallardo starting. He’s only started four games this season, and his numbers have been pretty horrible, but still, I always get kinda fucking nervous with Gallardo because of those good starts last year.