Toronto Blue Jays vs. Los Angeles Angels
August 23rd – August 25th
Written by Dave Church and Joshua Howsam
After a frustrating series against the Indians, the Jays return to the comfortable confines of the Rogers Centre to face the scuffling Los Angeles Angels. This is the first time these two teams have played each other this season. Both teams had an off day on Monday. The Angels, who are sitting in last place in the AL West, have had a forgettable month of August, going 5-14 so far this month. With a lot of divisional matchups coming in September, this is an opportunity for the Jays to bank some wins against an easier opponent. Let’s take a look at some of the matchups.
Tuesday, August 23rd – 7:07 PM ET
R.A. Dickey vs. Tyler Skaggs
An awful start then a quietly effective recovery by the end of the season has been par for the course for R.A. Dickey in his time with the Blue Jays. This season has seen some of that, as an awful April that saw him finish with a 6.75 ERA was down as low as 3.93 on July 10th. His remaining July starts were bad, allowing 18 runs in three games, and his August has been a mixed bag: though he did have two starts where he allowed just one run, his last start against the Yankees was misleading, as he gave up four hits and walked four batters in 5.2 innings of work, getting into and out of jams on several occasions. His knuckleball velocity is still increasing from month to month, which has usually been a good sign, as he uses the harder knuckleball to get more outs. Dickey being prone to the fly-ball won’t be as much of an issue with a power-hungry Angels team, who are 25th in baseball in home runs hit with 118 on the season.
Tyler Skaggs has only five starts to his name this year, after returning from the Tommy John surgery that ended his 2014 season. After a promising July with two shutouts, he has struggled mightily in August, allowing 15 runs in just 13.2 innings over three starts. He features a fourseam fastball, curveball, and a changeup. The fastball comes in around 93-94, and he uses it just short of 60% of the time. He also used a sinker during the first couple years of his career, though it has been on the shelf since his return from injury. The curveball is his best pitch, and batters seem to be hitting it this month: After an .077 average (SMALL SAMPLE SIZE KLAXON) against the curve in July, hitters have been hitting .389 against it in August. He’s faced the Jays just twice in his career, recording a 1-1 record and a 3.07 ERA.
Wednesday, August 24th – 7:07 PM ET
Marco Estrada vs. Matt Shoemaker
Estrada is looking to bounce back from his worst outing of the season, going only four innings and allowing five runs (and three home runs) against the Yankees on August 16th in the eventual 12-6 win. The off-day from Estrada was a surprise because he’s been incredibly consistent this season. You know what you’re getting from Estrada at this point: a high-80s fastball, a dynamite changeup, six-plus innings, two to three runs, and a bunch of befuddled hitters who can’t seem to figure him out. The short porch of Yankee Stadium was a bad fit for a flyball pitcher like Estrada, and it showed with the three home runs against, the most he’s allowed this season. As with Dickey, this Angels lineup should be a nice matchup for Marco Estrada, with the lack of power outside of Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.
Matt Shoemaker is an interesting story: signed by the Angels as an amateur free-agent after going undrafted in 2008, he beat the odds and made it to the majors in 2013. He forced his way into the rotation in 2014, finishing with a surprising 16 wins and placing second in the AL Rookie of the Year award. He’s been unable to hit those heights since, going 7-10 with a 4.46 ERA in 2015, and struggling to a 7-13 record and a 4.14 ERA this season. That line is dragged down by an awful April, where he had a 9.15 ERA in five starts. He has a mixed bag of pitches, with a split-fingered fastball being his most featured offering.
It’s rare to see a pitcher feature the splitter so prominently, but after April, he’s thrown less and less of the curve and slider as the season has gone along. The Jays have had success against Shoemaker in the two games they’ve had against him, notching ten runs (and three home runs) over 9.2 career innings. Given his 3.31 ERA since April, this might be a tougher test for the Jays than Shoemaker’s record would indicate.
Thursday, August 25th – 7:07 PM ET
J.A. Happ vs. Jered Weaver
It’s not been enough for J.A. Happ to have a fantastic season, he’s also gotten tremendous run support in his starts. The Jays have gotten an average of 6.4 runs for him when he’s taken the hill, which has helped propel him to an American League leading 17 wins so far. He’s been especially great since the beginning of July, with a 7-0 record and a 1.79 ERA in eight starts, notching a hilarious 63 strikeouts in 50.2 innings. A righty-heavy Angels lineup isn’t much of a concern, as Happ’s splits have been mostly nominal. With Estrada struggling (for him, anyway), and Sanchez now working out in Dunedin, Happ gets to take his turn as the Blue Jays’ ace.
Jered Weaver is several years removed from his time as the ace of the Angels, and basically playing out the string on the 5 year, $85 million contract he signed prior to the 2012 season. And while he was never someone with tremendous velocity, going from 95 to 91 on your fastball is a little different than going from 91 to 85, as Weaver has over the past several seasons.
Weaver has a 8-11 record and a 5.47 ERA on the season. While Shoemaker’s record can be blamed partly on a bad start and partly on the offense he’s saddled with, Weaver has earned everything that record indicates. He’s plainly been bad this year, and the Angels don’t have anyone right now who can push him out of the rotation. This should be a good matchup for the Jays.
Additions and Subtractions
The Blue Jays roster will look slightly different for the start of this series. Aaron Sanchez was sent down to Dunedin (a procedural move, since he was going to be skipped in his next start) in favour of Aaron Loup, and with the return of Kevin Pillar from the DL, one of Loup or Ryan Tepera will be heading to the minors Tuesday. If Jose Bautista is able to return with a minimum DL stint, he will be back Thursday and will likely take the spot of whichever of those two relievers survived the initial purge.
The Angels made a bunch of roster moves in their last series, activating and cleanup hitter CJ Cron from the DL, and calling up 3B Kaleb Cowart from Salt Lake. To make room for the two starters, they designated 2B Johnny Giovatella for assignment, and placed Yunel Escobar on the 7-day concussion list. Of all the series to miss, Escobar is probably happy not to have to come back to Toronto. The Angels also swapped out the 25th man on their roster, recalling RHP A.J. Achter and optioning outfielder Ji-Man Choi.
Keep an Eye On
Mike Trout Revenge
About this time last year, the Blue Jays rolled into Los Angeles (Anaheim) with postseason spots on the line for both clubs. The Jays steamrolled the Angels, and Josh Donaldson essentially sewed up his MVP award in the head-to-head matchup. The Angels ended up missing a wild card by one game, so that series sweep really hurt them. This time around, the Angels will be looking to play spoiler, and Trout will be looking to put himself at the forefront of the MVP Race. Look for a big series out of the best player in the game.
A Pillar of Stability
Say what you want about Kevin Pillar’s shortcomings, but it’s clear that he is an important part of both this defense and this offense. On the defensive side, his elite play in CF allows the Jays to use Melvin Upton Jr. in a corner, increasing the overall defensive talent on the field, and getting Saunders off his feet every now and then. On the offensive side, Pillar may not ever take walks but he does make a ton of contact, which is something that has been a very big problem of late.
Upton Power Show
Melvin Upton Jr.’s start in Toronto wasn’t exactly what he hoped for. He started out hitting .167/.193/.167 with 22 strikeouts in 54 PA. He seems to be starting to heat up though. His last five games have seen him go 6/18 with three HRs, three BBs and six RBI. It’s obviously a super small sample, but if he can stay hot for just a few more games, it will seriously help bridge the gap until Jose Bautista is able to return from his latest injury.
Probable Lineup
LA Angels |
Toronto Blue Jays |
| 1 Kole Calhoun RF | 1 Devon Travis 2B |
| 2 Mike Trout CF | 2 Josh Donaldson 3B |
| 3 Albert Pujols 1B | 3 Edwin Encarnacion 1B |
| 4 CJ Cron DH | 4 Michael Saunders DH |
| 5 Andrelton Simmons SS | 5 Russell Martin C |
| 6 Nick Buss LF | 6 Troy Tulowitzki SS |
| 7 Kaleb Cowart 3B | 7 Kevin Pillar CF |
| 8 Carlos Perez C | 8 Melvin Upton Jr. RF |
| 9 Cliff Pennington 2B | 9 Ezequiel Carrera LF |
via Roster Resource
Final Thoughts
This is a big homestand for the Blue Jays to rebound from the disappointing series in Cleveland, and the last chance to beat up on weaker opponents before things get tough. The Angels are reeling, having gone 3-3 right off a disastrous 11-game losing streak. Toronto needs to win at least two here, and at least two in the next series against Minnesota, as things will start to get much tougher after that with divisional play in September.
Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports