What happened?

Things that were good

• Marco Estrada was excellent yet again, completely shutting down a Yankees lineup that, as we saw in the second and third games of the series, is very good. Estrada is also very good. Sign him to an extension.
• Sticking with Estrada for a second, he had very positive things to say about the team’s new backup catcher. According to Arash Madani, Estrada said he felt like he had been throwing to Maile for years. We all know Maile isn’t going to accomplish much with the stick, because backup catcher seldom do, but if he can be sound defensively, that’ll do.
• Devon Travis looked like a different hitter this series than he has all season. He went 2-for-4 in both of the first two games, squared some balls up, and got himself some hard contact. He’s  had a rough start to the season, but he’s simply too good to struggle for this long. It seems now that his season is back on track.
• Steve Pearce seems to have finally woken up, too. On Tuesday, he hit two homers and went 4-for-4, and on Wednesday, he clubbed a three-run bomb off of CC Sabathia. Like Travis, he’s too good of a hitter to continue on at, like, a .200 OPS pace, obviously. He may not be an everyday player, and still likely functions best in a platoon role, but Pearce is coming around.
• Roberto Osuna tossed an inning in Wednesday’s game, picking up three strikeouts. There was worry about his velocity and whether it was going to be a long-term issue, but Osuna has now been spotless in his last three outings.
• Also, Danny Barnes. What does this guy need to do to get more high leverage innings? Barnes has tossed six-and-two-thirds innings and hasn’t allowed a run this season. He just pounds the strike zone over and over and has consistently seen success.

Things that weren’t good

• Mat Latos was very bad in Tuesday’s game. We all knew that he was eventually going to get drilled, but it seems he’s going to continue in the starting rotation until J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez are back. He actually managed to strike five Yankees out over his four innings, it was his fastball that was getting pumped. Hopefully it was a blip and he can back more like the starter we saw against St. Louis, but that seems unlikely.
• Marcus Stroman left Wednesday’s game with soreness in his armpit, which isn’t good. He says it isn’t serious, and expects to make his next start, but with the luck the Jays have had this season, I wouldn’t blame you if that didn’t make you any less worried. We may see Joe Biagini make a spot start if Stroman isn’t able to go, which could be interesting.
• Kendrys Morales has been awful at the plate recently. His OPS for the season is down to .637, which is like Ryan Goins/Darwin Barney territory. If you’re a DH, you simply can’t be producing that poorly with the bat, especially when you’re playing for the Jays, a team full of old, nearly broken guys who could use time off from the field every once in a while. At one point, Morales was one of few bright spots on the team, but in the Yankees series, he had multiple ugly at bats in key, possible run-producing situations.
• Jason Grilli got rooooooocked on Tuesday for three runs without getting an out. We all like Grilli, his demeanour, and what he’s done for the team over the past year, but damn, after a handful of poor outings this year, it’s hard not to worry if he’s out of gas.

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