Series Preview: Heading to Toronto West

Surprisingly, the Blue Jays weren’t blown out in each game of their three-game series against the Dodgers. While they did get swept, the Blue Jays’ pitching staff performed quite well against one of the best offenses in the entire league. Now, the kids will get their first taste of the fanfare that the Blue Jays receive when they take their annual trip to Seattle.

Each season, the Blue Jays receive overwhelming amounts of support from their Western Canada fans during their trip to Seattle. So, it should be very interesting to see how that support impacts this young Blue Jays’ lineup and what their responses will be during this three-game series.

Trent Thornton will be making yet another start against these Mariners. The 25-year-old made his latest start against the Mariners before the start of this current road trip. Thornton pitched six innings and gave up three runs on five hits and walked four batters.

During that start, Thornton allowed more than two walks for the first time since July 15. The Mariners have recorded the 2nd-worst OBP in the AL this month. So, this start should allow Thornton to be more efficient than he was during his previous start against the Mariners.

Justus Sheffield will be making just his second start in the majors this season. The top-prospect acquired in the James Paxton trade has made 24 starts between double-A and triple-A this season. Sheffield has performed quite well during his 12 starts with the double-A Arkansas Travelers this season.

The 23-year-old is currently pitching with a 5-3 record along with a 2.19 ERA, 1.030 WHIP and a .218 OPP AVG through his 78 innings at double-A. While Sheffield has only pitched 5.2 innings in the majors so far in his career, the Blue Jays’ hitters shouldn’t overlook Sheffield in this game. As he’s also produced a 9.0 SO/9 in the minors this season.

The Blue Jays have annoyingly not decided who they’ll start during this game yet. They currently have just a two-man rotation. Which means they’ll very likely decide to call a pitcher up from triple-A Buffalo. Brock Stewart will be eligible to be recalled by the Blue Jays for this game.

Stewart last start with the Blue Jays came on Aug 12. against the Rangers. Where he gave up three runs on five hits along with a trio of home runs during his five and 1/3 innings of work. Stewart likely isn’t the Blue Jays’ first choice to call up for this game. But, they’ll likely want their top pitching prospects to play out the rest of the minor-league season before coming up to play for the Blue Jays.

King Felix will be activated from the IL before this game to make his first start since May 11. Felix Hernandez has made five rehab starts since he was cleared to resume playing after his lat strain was fully healed. During those rehab starts, Hernandez recorded a 3.38 ERA, 1.050 WHIP and a 13.5 SO/9 through his 13.1 innings pitched.

Hernandez is far from the pitcher he was from 2009 to 2015. But, he’s shown to still have the capability to strike out opposing batters at a high rate. Most of these Blue Jays’ hitters have only seen Hernandez pitch on TV before. So, they’ll need to remain patient at the plate during their first time through the order, until they get a feel for Hernandez’s pitches.

With Stewart likely to pitch in Saturday’s game, that means the Blue Jays will likely decide to go with another bullpen game in this finale against the Mariners. Wilmer Font will likely open the game for the Blue Jays once again. Since he’s pitched extremely well since becoming an opener for the Blue Jays. Through his six starts(if you can even really call them starts), Font has allowed just a single run over his 12.1 innings pitched.

Following Font, the Blue Jays could decide to send out Zack Godley. The 29-year-old recorded one of his best performances this season during his latest outing. Godley surrendered a home run to the first batter he faced. But, he then settled in and gave up just a single hit through the remainder of his three and 2/3 innings pitched.

Marco Gonzales has been smacked around the diamond over his last three starts. The 27-year-old has surrendered a combined 23 hits, eight runs along with a pair of home runs over his last 17.1 innings. Although, Gonzales has still been able to record a lot of swings and misses over that time as well.

He’s created a total of 20 strikeouts over his last three starts. Gonzales has currently given up the most hits in the AL this season. But, he owns just a 4.30 ERA and a 3.96 FIP because of his 6.9 SO/9 recorded this season. The Blue Jays have hit the 5th-most doubles in the AL this month. Which means they’ll need to have most of their hits go for extra bases in this game in order to be successful in this finale against the Mariners.