Series Preview: I’m not crying, you’re crying

This is officially one of the saddest moments of the season, the Blue Jays are set to begin their final homestand of 2019. After losing two of their three games against the Yankees, the Blue Jays are probably very happy to come home to “The Six” to further beat up on the “Trash Birds”. During their road trip, the Blue Jays swept the Orioles in their three-game series and scored a total of 27 runs as well.

Coming into this series, the Blue Jays’ roster doesn’t seem to care about tanking for a higher position in next season’s draft. Currently, if the season finished today the Blue Jays would pick fifth overall in the first-year player draft next June. While wins are important for some teams this time of the year, it would definitely be better for the Blue Jays if they lose more games than they win to conclude this homestand.

It’s safe to say that Clay Buchholz suffered his worst start of the season last time out in Baltimore. The 35-year-old threw just three and 2/3 innings and surrendered seven runs on ten hits along with a pair of home runs as well. Of the ten hits allowed, seven of them went for extra bases.

Since returning from the IL on Aug. 25, Buchholz had been providing the Blue Jays with some length in their starting rotation. In his first three starts off the IL, Buchholz had pitched into the sixth inning and not allowed more than four runs in each of those starts. Although, the two-time All-Star hasn’t pitched beyond the fourth inning over his last two starts. This also might be his final start of the season, so Buchholz will be looking to finish the 2019 season strong in this game.

During his latest start, Chandler Shepherd was pounded for a pair of home runs by the Blue Jays. Those home runs coming from Cavan Biggio and Randal Grichuk were the only runs that Shepherd allowed in his first career start in the majors. Despite the two home runs, Shepherd pitched extremely efficient against the Blue Jays. The 27-year-old threw 65% of his pitches for strikes.

Coming into this game, Shepherd will be seeking to earn his first win in the majors. The Blue Jays’ hitters have produced the 4th-fewest amount of runs in the AL this month. So, Shepherd should be in a great position to earn the victory if he’s able to pitch effectively once again against the Blue Jays.

In what will likely be his final start of 2019, Anthony Kay will be looking to further build off his impressive start against the Orioles in this game. During his previous start against the Trash Birds, Kay went four innings and gave up just two runs on four hits and created a trio of strikeouts as well.

Kay’s latest start was the most efficient he’s been since he was promoted to the majors. In his start against the Orioles, Kay threw 69% of his pitches for strikes, which was a 4% improvement from his previous start against the Yankees. Heading into next season, Kay could win a job in the Blue Jays’ rotation coming out of spring training. So, the 24-year-old will need to continue to pitch effectively and induce more ground balls than fly balls to make the opening day roster next season.

A once 4th overall draft selection in the 2011 draft, Dylan Bundy’s future with the Orioles seems unclear following this season. The 26-year-old currently owns a 4.89 ERA, 1.384 WHIP, 4.76 FIP and a 2.2 bWAR. Bundy is also under contract with the Orioles for another two seasons. But, there are rumors swirling that the Trash Birds may look to move the right-hander this winter.

For the Blue Jays’ sake, they would love to see Bundy pitch somewhere else next season since he’s dominated their lineup all season long. Through his three starts against the Blue Jays this season, Bundy has pitched at least five innings and hasn’t given up more than two runs in any of those starts. Bundy has also recorded a combined 21 strikeouts against the Blue Jays’ lineup this season.

Since becoming a full-time member of the Blue Jays’ rotation on July 16, Jacob Waguespack has pitched very inconsistently through his 12 starts with Toronto. The 25-year-old has had his ups this season where he pitches six or seven innings allowing one run or fewer along with four or five strikeouts. Waguespack has also had his struggles this season where he fails to pitch beyond the fourth inning and surrenders a pair of home runs early on in the game.

In Waguespack’s latest start against the Orioles, we saw the righty pitch effectively but we also witnessed the Orioles’ hitters take him deep over the wall twice as well. During that start, Waguespack threw 88 pitches over five innings and gave up three runs on four hits along with creating six strikeouts. The Blue Jays believe that Waguespack can contribute to their team as a starter next season. But, Waguespack will need to show that he can pitch deep into games without allowing a home run in almost single every game.

Surprisingly, the Blue Jays weren’t able to produce even more damage against Gabriel Ynoa during his latest start against them. In that game, Ynoa pitched six and 1/3 innings and allowed just three runs on six hits along with giving up back-to-back home runs from Biggio and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

The Blue Jays were able to hit 14 fly balls in that game against Ynoa, but only three of them went for extra bases. Coming into this game, the Blue Jays will surely want to put one more beating on the Trash Birds before the conclusion of the season. So, they’ll need to find a way to square up more balls into the outfield, in order to be productive against Ynoa in this finale against the Orioles.