Blue Jays rotation on a roll, Vlad the villain and other road-trip takeaways

A charmed sports weekend in Toronto. We don’t get many of those during this time of year. Sandwiched between two Blue Jays victories over the New York Yankees, the Maple Leafs won a testy Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning they probably had no business taking. Can the good times keep rolling? Uhhhhh, well, we know better than to get ahead of ourselves with the Leafs … because, you know, the decades of cruel and twisted heartbreak.

But back to the Blue Jays. They wrapped up a 3-3 road trip through Houston and New York with a 5-1 win over the Yankees on Sunday, sealing the series 2-1. The Blue Jays have handed the Tampa Bay Rays and Yankees their first series losses of the season, and they’re 4-2 against their division.

Let’s look at takeaways from the last six games.

Rotation on a roll

After an oddly slow start, the Blue Jays rotation is rolling, other than a clunker from Kevin Gausman in Houston, which was easy to dismiss as a one-off because of his track record. Expectedly, Gausman came back and pitched one of his finest outings of the year Sunday, holding the Yankees scoreless over seven innings with 11 strikeouts, tying his season-best mark. Gausman now leads the American League in strikeouts with 41.

Now leading @MLB in strikeouts: @KevinGausman 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hEsDNb9697

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 23, 2023

Gausman’s outing capped off a nice turn of the rotation. On Friday, Yusei Kikuchi continued to look confident and fired up on the mound, holding the Yankees to one run over six innings with three strikeouts. Encouragingly, Alek Manoah had his best outing Saturday, throwing seven scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Before that, Chris Bassitt and José Berríos pitched gems in Houston, holding the Astros to no runs and two runs, respectively, in their last starts.

After the first turn of the rotation, Blue Jays starters had an ERA of 8.87. Through this latest turn, it’s 0.81, having allowed just three earned runs over a combined 33 1/3 innings. Toronto’s rotation was viewed as a strength before the season, and after a wobbly beginning, it’s becoming the dependable pillar it was built to be.

RISP woes

For as good as their offence was billed to be, the Blue Jays haven’t been able to take advantage of opportunities with runners in scoring position. On this six-game trip, they went 5-for-41 with RISP and left 40 runners on base. Failing to get the big hit was most noticeable in the final loss to the Astros, when Toronto loaded the bases with no one out in the eighth of a 2-0 game and couldn’t get more than one run. They lost 8-1. Then on Saturday, behind the aforementioned gem from Manoah, the Blue Jays went 0-for-9 with RISP and left eight on base in a 3-2 loss. As a team, they have a .661 OPS with RISP, ranked 23rd.

This is one of those things that’s likely to look bad until it’s not. At least that was how it was last year when the Blue Jays were awful in RISP situations until about mid-May, then they broke out in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals and the RISP rage quieted down. By the end of the season — even accounting for the horrid start — the Blue Jays had a 119 wRC+ with men in scoring position, ranked top three in the AL.

Looking at underlying numbers this year, the Blue Jays have been getting a bit unlucky in RISP situations. Their expected batting average (.245) and slugging percentage (.447) are higher than their actual batting average (.230) and slugging percentage (.348). Their batting average on balls in play is .278, which is lower than the .307 BABIP they’re sporting overall. They’re striking out a bit more than their norm in RISP situations (22 percent) but also walking more (10.5 percent). Eventually, it should normalize, and if there is any solace, it’s that the Blue Jays are playing at a 96-win pace despite it, while also playing 16 of their first 22 games on the road.

Vlad the Villain?

It’s difficult to imagine Vladimir Guerrero Jr. being viewed as a villain. He’s a joyful guy who routinely dances in the dugout, jokes around with teammates and opponents alike, and doles out hugs as frequently as he hits balls 100 mph — which is a lot. He gets showered with love from fans at home, of course, but it’s not uncommon to hear cheers for him in road ballparks. Whether fans appreciate his talent or have an affinity for his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., is hard to say, but outside of Canada, Vladdy Jr. gets love, too.

That’s why it was so uncanny to hear the boos cascading from the stands at Yankee Stadium. The reason for it is clear. Guerrero has twice scoffed at the idea of signing with the Yankees. He said as much over the offseason in an interview with El Dotol Nastra and then underlined that statement Friday when he said he would “never” play for the Yankees. “It’s a personal thing. It goes back with my family. That’s my decision,” he said through a team interpreter.

He would never play for them but he LOVES hitting here 🥰 #PLAKATA pic.twitter.com/91MmOlz9KY

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 23, 2023

No one likes being rejected, so openly at that — and Yankees fans certainly aren’t accustomed to it. The Yankees are a high-spending, perennially contending team; it’s not often players rebuff them.

While Guerrero might never wear the pinstripes, he has had outstanding results in New York and in this series went 4-for-11 with a walk and two home runs, including a laser two-run shot to left field in Sunday’s 5-1 win. In 34 career games, he owns a .614 slugging percentage at Yankee Stadium, which is the highest at the stadium all-time among players with at least 100 at-bats. Per Katie Sharp, his 12 home runs in the Bronx are four more than any other visiting player since his debut in 2019.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. now has 12 career HR at Yankee Stadium.

That’s 4 more than any other visiting player since his debut in 2019

— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) April 23, 2023

Back-end bullpen trouble

Toronto’s bullpen has been a mixed bag. With either Erik Swanson or Jordan Romano on the mound, things feel pretty good — even if Romano gave up the game-winning hit Saturday when he came into the ninth trying to preserve a tie. He has seven saves, a lengthy track record and his slider has been an effective pitch.

After a slow start, Trevor Richards has been effective, with a 33.3 percent strikeout rate that ranks in the 90th percentile. He’s not a highest-of-leverage guy, but he’s capable of pitching multiple middle innings. Eliminating his last four-run outing against the Astros, Zach Pop had been the early-season surprise and should have a chance to solidify a regular job.

But Yimi García, Adam Cimber and Anthony Bass have been giving up hard contact lately. They all have track records of success, so they’ll be given a decent runway to work things out, but the Blue Jays need reliable middle-inning options and it’s been a mystery box of knowing what they’ll get.

That leads to wondering what the other options are. One stands out. Nate Pearson has a 2.16 ERA in 8 1/3 innings with 16 strikeouts and five walks with Triple-A Buffalo. In his last outing, his first professional save, he touched 99.7 mph on his fastball and sat 98 mph, generating 10 swings and four whiffs. The message to Pearson in the spring when he didn’t make the team was to earn his call-up. He’s pitching well, but it’s a bit more complicated than that.

Of the pitchers who haven’t been at their sharpest, neither García nor Bass can be optioned down. Cimber has five years of MLB service time, so he’d have to consent to a minor-league assignment. Pop is the only guy with minor-league options, but he’s had only one bad outing. Otherwise, his stuff has been electric. The Blue Jays don’t have a flexible bullpen setup, so getting Pearson an opportunity might require an injury or a difficult decision.

(Photo of Kevin Gausman: Brad Penner / USA Today)