All the positives from the Toronto Blue Jays’ early-season start have gone down the drain these past five games.

After a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners last Friday, the Blue Jays had a 12-8 record, good enough for second in the American League East. Then, they proceeded to lose the next two games against the Mariners for their second series loss of the season.
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No biggie though, because they could’ve gotten back on track against the Houston Astros. They didn’t. Monday’s game saw the Jays register two hits in a 7-0 loss to bring their losing streak to three. That loss saw Springer reach third base with a single and two steals with no outs, but the Jays failed to cash him in, a precursor for what was to come the rest of the series.
The Jays scored a run on Tuesday, but fell 5-1. Again, they had just two hits in this game, as Nathan Lukes hit his first home run of the season. Lastly, they limited the Astros to just three runs in the third and final game of the series, but only scored one run in that game, a 3-1 loss. They did have five hits, though, more than the first two games combined.
There aren’t a lot of positives to take away from this series. The only regular with a wRC+ above 100 was George Springer, who had a 159 wRC+, finishing with a slash line of .250/.455/.375. Nathan Lukes hit a home run in his three plate appearances, while Ernie Clement had a 104 wRC+.
Everyone else? Well, no other player finished with a wRC+ above 0. That is very bad, as a wRC+ of 100 is considered average. It ranges from Bo Bichette’s -11 wRC+ to Alejandro Kirk, Myles Straw, Addison Barger, and Will Wagner’s -100 wRC+. Simply put, the bats have to do better.
Unlike in previous series, their pitching wasn’t able to bail them out. Collectively, the three starters &#8211; Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, and Bowden Francis &#8211; posted a 6.19 ERA and a 3.77 FIP in 16 innings pitched. Then again, it’s hard to win games when a team scores two runs in a three-game series and has three hits per game on average.
The bullpen was okay, posting a 4.50 ERA and a 2.77 FIP in eight innings pitched, striking out 31.6% of batters and walking 5.3% of batters. Seven of eight relievers pitched in this series, with Josh Walker’s two innings being the most for any reliever. He also had a bullpen-worst 13.50 ERA in his two innings, but a solid 3.02 FIP. Yariel Rodríguez was the other reliever who gave up a run.
When the team is at its best this season, they can drive in runs with small ball, while their pitching limits damage. Neither thing happened in the series; forget about the much-needed power surge we’ve all been waiting for.
A new series means a new opportunity, though. This weekend, the Jays face the New York Yankees for the first time this season in a three-game series in the Bronx. Let’s hope they get back on track against the American League East division leaders.
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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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All the positives from the Toronto Blue Jays’ early-season start have gone down the drain these past five games.



After a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners last Friday, the Blue Jays had a 12-8 record, good enough for second in the American League East. Then, they proceeded to lose the next two games against the Mariners for their second series loss of the season.
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No biggie though, because they could’ve gotten back on track against the Houston Astros. They didn’t. Monday’s game saw the Jays register two hits in a 7-0 loss to bring their losing streak to three. That loss saw Springer reach third base with a single and two steals with no outs, but the Jays failed to cash him in, a precursor for what was to come the rest of the series.

The Jays scored a run on Tuesday, but fell 5-1. Again, they had just two hits in this game, as Nathan Lukes hit his first home run of the season. Lastly, they limited the Astros to just three runs in the third and final game of the series, but only scored one run in that game, a 3-1 loss. They did have five hits, though, more than the first two games combined.

There aren’t a lot of positives to take away from this series. The only regular with a wRC+ above 100 was George Springer, who had a 159 wRC+, finishing with a slash line of .250/.455/.375. Nathan Lukes hit a home run in his three plate appearances, while Ernie Clement had a 104 wRC+.

Everyone else? Well, no other player finished with a wRC+ above 0. That is very bad, as a wRC+ of 100 is considered average. It ranges from Bo Bichette’s -11 wRC+ to Alejandro Kirk, Myles Straw, Addison Barger, and Will Wagner’s -100 wRC+. Simply put, the bats have to do better.

Unlike in previous series, their pitching wasn’t able to bail them out. Collectively, the three starters - Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, and Bowden Francis - posted a 6.19 ERA and a 3.77 FIP in 16 innings pitched. Then again, it’s hard to win games when a team scores two runs in a three-game series and has three hits per game on average.

The bullpen was okay, posting a 4.50 ERA and a 2.77 FIP in eight innings pitched, striking out 31.6% of batters and walking 5.3% of batters. Seven of eight relievers pitched in this series, with Josh Walker’s two innings being the most for any reliever. He also had a bullpen-worst 13.50 ERA in his two innings, but a solid 3.02 FIP. Yariel Rodríguez was the other reliever who gave up a run.

When the team is at its best this season, they can drive in runs with small ball, while their pitching limits damage. Neither thing happened in the series; forget about the much-needed power surge we’ve all been waiting for.

A new series means a new opportunity, though. This weekend, the Jays face the New York Yankees for the first time this season in a three-game series in the Bronx. Let’s hope they get back on track against the American League East division leaders.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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