I wonder if Yordano Ventura is going to make good on his promise to bean Bautista. After what Machado did to him, he may want to reconsider.
Wasn't unhappy with the performance either. He was around the plate the vast majority of the time. The first inning error helped run up his pitch count. On the negative side, I thought he either began to tire or the third time through the line up, the Royals were beginning to figure him out.Liriano 2 earned runs over 6 innings, I'll take that any day of the week from our 4th or 5th starter.
His fastball also topped out at 96mph which is excellent
A catcher's affect on pitchers can be huge! You can tell a good catcher by how often a pitcher will shake off his pitch selection. If he's getting shaken off a lot then usually the pitcher isnt comfortable with the pitches he's selectingIf he ends up pitching well for the remainder of the year, you really have to wonder how good Russell Martin is as a receiver and what kind effect he has on pitchers
Thats a testament to Devon's bat speed. It was 98mph actually, according to SN pitch tracker.Herrera couldn't believe Travis hit a homer off a 97-mph fastball inside.
"I didn't know how he hit that," Herrera said. "I was shocked. It kept carrying. Pretty good billy club."
"It was actually a pitch that was up and in," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "I've never seen anyone hit a pitch like that off Herrera -- 97-mph fastball."
it will be interesting to see how they react to an extra day offThree jays starters are in top 6 in ERA in American League to this point in year. Pretty fucking unbelievable.
it will be interesting to see how they react to an extra day off
Could be great as they are more rested or could go the other way as they lose their rhythm
Looking at it slightly differently, last year the Jays won by huge margins but could not duplicate that in the playoffs and lost to KC who were masterful at small ball and winning close games, something the Jays struggled with.Again, it's a good thing our starters and Osuna have been great this year, but I don't think we get far in playoffs without the offence picking up.
No Cola. Also this year's Bautista is a weak shadow of the 2015 Bautista and this alone is HUGE! JD, JB and EE back to back killed opposing teams in 2015.Question: Is this the real offence of 2016? We just past the 2/3 mark of the season and we're 6th in baseball in runs scored, 8th in OPS and we're 12th in AL BA RISP. They need a sports psych to get them over this collective mental block.
This after leading baseball by WIDE margins in 2015 in most meaningful offensive categories, with essentially the same cast, except Cola, which I cannot believe would make that much diff.
There were stats comparisons that were showing the distance the 2015 Jays had over the 2nd place teams were about as big as some dominant Bronx Bomber teams from the 30's and 60's.
I recall we had a few high scoring games against the AAA Phils, the 17 run game against the Cleveland's bullpen after they burned their starter in the previous 19in game, maybe a few against the O's bad pitching, but nothing like the regular crooked numbers we used to put up last year.
The 15 consecutive solo HR's are symptomatic that we are a) not getting on base as much due to high SO, b) not hitting when guys are on bases.
Again, it's a good thing our starters and Osuna have been great this year, but I don't think we get far in playoffs without the offence picking up.
Has Shapiro or Gibby said this for sure?? Got a link for that??I really like the move by Atkins and Shapiro to keep Sanchez in the starting rotation hopefully to the end of the season if everything syncs together nicely
I think we have the best starting staff in all of MLB right nowWho would have thought that the Jays starting rotation would feature the league leader in ERA, WHIP, and in wins- and it would be 3 different guys! Sanchez leads in ERA, Estrada in WHIP and Happ is the winningest pitcher in the league
Obviously Dickey, Thole, Gibby & Pete Walker are to blame for this.I'll take them but 15 straight solo home runs.