Forums » Suggestions
3 Takeaways From Blue Jays Loss to Yanke
-
TORONTO Yimi Garca tried his best.Five days since his last outing, the Blue Jays reliever had the difficult task of facing 4-5-6 in the Yankees lineup Adam Engel Jersey with the game tied in the top of the ninth. With Toronto positioning its outfield nearly on the warning track, Giancarlo Stanton started things off with a crisp single. Tim Locastro replaced him a pinch runner, stole a base, then wound up scoring on a two-out Gleyber Torres single.For Garca, it was his second shaky outing in a row. For the Blue Jays as a whole, though, there was a bit more to takeaway from the 3-2 lo s on Monday.For a team that's been surprisingly ferocious in close games (9-2 record in one-run games this season), the Blue Jays seemed pretty carefree about their losing result."I don't think any of us are putting too much weight on this series," Blue Jays starter Ro s Stripling said. "We went into Yankee Stadium and played a good four games set early, and now this is the first one here in the Rogers Centre."Like Stripling said, the Blue Jays split a four-game series against the Yankees in April. Toronto knows it can hang with the division leaders, so the club isnt treating these games with balls- James McCann Jersey to-wall intensity.Still, the Jays would've liked to see the offense wake up a little bit. It was another dull effort from Torontothe Jays scored their only two runs in the fourth inningbut they were faced with some tough arms late in the game."That's a good bullpen," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. "That's why they're doing so well."The Yankees are on a 10-game win streak, thanks in large part to their stellar bullpen which has contributed a league-leading 1.6 fWAR this year.Bottom line, the Blue Jays have survived a meat grinder of a schedule lately, and they aren't about to let a Game 1 lo s or even a series lo s me s with their mojo.As a guy whos never been cla sified as a full-time starting pitcher, Stripling sure boasts a starters arsenal. His fastball, while not spectacular in velocity, has been effective in his career, especially when he complements it with a sharp knuckle curve. Scroll to ContinueLately, Stripling has leaned more on his changeup in tight situationsand hes had much more succe s. With a man on in the third inning, Stripling kept feeding offspeeds to Aaron Judge. The hulking Yankees slugger never seemed to time it up, though, and he continuously fouled balls off. Stripling was persistent, and when he uncorked another changeup on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Judge swung over it.It was remarkable how often Stripling used the pitch against right-handed hitters. Typically, his breaking stuff does the trick in those situations, but Stripling identified something in his pre-game meeting with pitching coach Pete Walker that suggested going changeup-heavy was the better call."You start to see the actions and the swings as you're Lucas Giolito Jersey going through the outing and realize, 'Okay, I got a good idea where it's going. I'm keeping guys off balance to both righties and lefties,'" Stripling said. "So it just kind of snowballs in that way as you throw more changeups ."The value of Striplings changeup carried into the next hitter, too. Left-handed-hitting Anthony Rizzo, who carried an OPS above 1.000 into Monday, knew Stripling would load up on the changeup, so Stripling mixed in a few sliders. Rizzo looked caught off guard on those spinners, and he eventually got jammed on a flyout to left.Out of the 63 pitches the right-hander threw on Monday, 26 were changeups. That 41% changeup usage was a subtle but effective adjustment that is worth following going forward. The Blue Jays have numerous players working back from injuries at the moment, and everyone is moving in the right direction. Starting pitcher Hyun Jin Ryu (10-day IL, forearm) is scheduled to pitch for the Buffalo Bisons in a rehab outing on Saturday. Ryu told the Blue Jays hes feeling good, but Toronto will gauge the results of the Triple A outing before deciding its next step. Hes a lock to re-join the rotation when hes back, though its po sible the Blue Jays piggyback some of Ryus outings with an opener.Teoscar Hernndez (10- Leury Garcia Jersey day IL, oblique) has been out since April 14, and because of his long absence, he told Montoyo he needed some rehab at-bats. Hes in Dunedin, Fla., right now with the Blue Jays Low A affiliate and will get his reps beginning Tuesday or Wednesday with the goal of joining the major-league club for its weekend series in Cleveland. Nate Pearson (10-day IL, mononucleosis) is in Toronto and scheduled to throw a bullpen Tuesday. Hes still not feeling 100%, but after being away for so long, hes just happy to be around his teammates again. It's good to be up here and be around the guys, Pearson told . It's just a smile on my face when I get to see these guys, just talk to them.Pearson expects Michael Jordan Jersey to head to Buffalo soon for some rehab starts as the Blue Jays build him back up to a starting pitchers workload. Danny Jansen (oblique) is battling a more severe injury than Hernndezs. Hes been much slower to progre s, but took batting practice for the first time since his injury Monday and also ran the bases.