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	<title>Toronto &#187; Eric Mercer</title>
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	<description>Comprehensive coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays</description>
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		<title>Recap: Blue Jays 5, Orioles 1; Sanchez and Donaldson Is All a Team Needs</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/09/27/recap-blue-jays-5-orioles-1-sanchez-and-donaldson-is-all-a-team-needs/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Sep 2016 02:09:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Mercer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recaps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baltimore Orioles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=7038</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Blue Jays faced the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of a pivotal series coming down the stretch of the wild card race on Tuesday night. Entering the game, the Jays held a slim one game lead over Baltimore. The team could not have started any better than they did. Impromptu lead-off hitter Ezequiel [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Blue Jays faced the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of a pivotal series coming down the stretch of the wild card race on Tuesday night. Entering the game, the Jays held a slim one game lead over Baltimore. The team could not have started any better than they did. Impromptu lead-off hitter Ezequiel Carrera drew a walk against Orioles&#8217; starter Kevin Gausman, perfectly setting the table for Donaldson. Josh got a pitch to his liking  in a hitters count and drove the ball over the left field wall. Two batters into the game for the Jays and they had already put up more runs than Baltimore would be able to plate for the entire game.</p>
<p>Aaron Sanchez was instrumental again in limiting the opposition to only one run. His location was tremendous tonight and he was able to mix in quality changeups and curveballs to keep the Baltimore hitters from sitting on his sinker. Tonight, he had his swing-and-miss stuff, causing 10 Orioles to strikeout over six innings of work. Considering the Red Sox look like they have the division all but clinched, Sanchez will be set to pitch the wild card game if the Jays make it.</p>
<h3>Top Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>It&#8217;s no surprise that the top play of the game goes to Josh Donaldson. It happened early on, the second at-bat the Jays had in the game. Carrera worked a walk against Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman and the reigning MVP hit his 37th dinger of the season. Gausman missed with the first two pitches of the at-bat; Donaldson, somewhat curiously, let a 2-0 fastball right down the pipe go past him. When the count was 2-1, however, he got the exact same fastball and crushed it to left centre. Even though the homer came in the first inning, this increased the Jays&#8217; chance to win by 0.153 WPA.</p>
<h3>Bottom Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>There is a tie between Machado and Alvarez for the worst play of the game. So naturally, Manny Machado had the worst play of the game during today&#8217;s game. With men on first and second with only one out, Machado cranked a liner to the right of Troy Tulowitzki. Tulo made an incredible dive and came away with the ball in his glove. Machado only decreased the Orioles chance of winning by 0.050 WPA; or rather Tulo increased the Jays&#8217; chance to win by that amount with this slick play.</p>
<h3>Aaron Sanchez is Overpowering</h3>
<p>Once again, Aaron Sanchez displayed his full arsenal of talent against an offensively oriented Baltimore Orioles club. He limited them to one run during his six innings and showcased an impressive ability to locate his sinking fastball. I have never seen a pitcher with such movement on their fastball be able to locate it with the precision that Sanchez does. He can locate his pitch down and away to a right handed hitter. Think about that. What is a batter supposed to do when a pitch starts belt high and nearly half a foot off the outside of the plate and then it darts its way to the outside edge? Not to mention that the pitch is 96 mph. Needless to say, I am excited to watch Sanchez pitch in the wild card game&#8230; I mean, he has to be the starter right?</p>
<h3>Trend to Watch</h3>
<p>The most alarming concern right now for the Jays is the health of Devon Travis. He re-injured his shoulder in last night&#8217;s game (presumably in the brawl with the Yankees). I don&#8217;t mind Barney taking his place but I would prefer a player that can drive the ball opposed to one who lays down sac bunts. Although, I will eat my words tonight, since Barney dropped a sac bunt that moved Pillar up to second and then he was cashed on a single by Carrera.</p>
<h3>Up Next</h3>
<p>Two more games against the Orioles in Rogers Centre. The Jays have a chance to close out Baltimore from the first wild card spot. Going to be a fun week!</p>
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		<title>2015 vs. 2016: How the Blue Jays Changed</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/09/21/2015-vs-2016-blue-jays-then-vs-now/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/09/21/2015-vs-2016-blue-jays-then-vs-now/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Sep 2016 14:29:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Mercer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=6801</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s no secret that the 2016 version of the Toronto Blue Jays is performing drastically different than the team we saw in 2015. The roster is similar, but even there we can see significant differences. The major changes to player personnel came in the bullpen and starting rotation. The bullpen lost Liam Hendriks, Mark Lowe, [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There&#8217;s no secret that the 2016 version of the Toronto Blue Jays is performing drastically different than the team we saw in 2015. The roster is similar, but even there we can see significant differences. The major changes to player personnel came in the bullpen and starting rotation. The bullpen lost Liam Hendriks, Mark Lowe, LaTroy Hawkins and Aaron Sanchez (who obviously is still on the team). This season the team gained Jason Grilli, Joe Biagini, Joaquin Benoit and, for a time, Drew Storen… The team both lost and gained quality relievers but all-in-all the bullpen has been much worse this season than last (more on this later).</p>
<p>Let’s take a look at the route that both teams took to get to this point in the season. Last season, the Jays overwhelmed their opponents with sheer force. They were so proficient at scoring runs that by a standardized rate (z-scores) the team was <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uAuN0zp6Sb5qRTji0uL-eI7WGOb3LGzg90IqKOv_h6c" target="_blank">the best offensive team relative to other clubs that season of all-time</a>. With that in mind, it seems unrealistic to expect the same level of offensive consistency; and we have certainly witnessed an immense drop off.</p>
<p><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/09/2015-v-2016-records.png"><img class=" size-full wp-image-6803 aligncenter" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/09/2015-v-2016-records.png" alt="2015 v 2016 records" width="597" height="59" /></a></p>
<p>Above is a table of some relevant team statistics (prior to last night’s game). As you can see, through the same number of games last year, the Jays had scored 114 more runs than this version. This is of course fine; the Jays simply need to be a good offensive team rather than one of the best offensive teams ever to make the playoffs. However, the numbers that stand out to me are the Jays record against lefties and their record at home. This year, they have performed worse when they are facing a lefty starter despite a lineup is constructed almost entirely of right-handed power hitters. This team should mash lefties, like they did last year; but that hasn’t been the case thus far. As for their ability to win at home, I’m not sure why the team has a worse record, perhaps this team just isn’t as good and to expect a 65% win rate at home is far-fetched.</p>
<p>The big surprise the amount of runs the Jays have allowed in 2016 compared to last season. As we all know, the Jays rotation has been flat out better than it was last year. Except for a rough patch in August, the rotation has been the driving force on a lot of nights to get the win. This makes sense, if a team adds two cy-young candidates to their rotation, you would expect them to perform at a higher level. As such, it was shocking to see the Jays had allowed more runs. This number represents the entire pitching staff and, of course, that encompasses the faulty bullpen. Below are two tables representing the starter and reliever splits over both 2015 and 2016. Keep in mind that the 2015 data represents the entire season.</p>
<p><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/09/2015-v-2016-starters-and-relievers.png"><img class=" size-full wp-image-6805 aligncenter" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/09/2015-v-2016-starters-and-relievers.png" alt="2015 v 2016 starters and relievers" width="585" height="163" /></a></p>
<p>The starters have lowered both their ERA and WHIP, and increased the number of strikeouts per nine and the strikeout to walk ratio. This isn’t necessarily a surprise, the club was getting Stroman back for the entire season and Sanchez was entering the rotation. What is a surprise is that Stroman has been mediocre and the rotation is still pitching this well.</p>
<p>Sadly, the bullpen has been nothing short of a catastrophe. They have a worse ERA and batting average against than the rotation, which is about as clear an indicator of poor performance as you can except. One inning relievers should outperform starters. In 2015, the bullpen was 11 percent better than the average bullpen when factoring in park differences. This year they are 6 percent worse than the average relief corps. It is tough to recover from a net 17 percentage point swing in performance in a single year.</p>
<p>It seems in this day and age, people often try to define a bullpen by a team’s top-3 arms. What reliever can throw in the 7<sup>th</sup>, the 8<sup>th</sup> and the 9<sup>th</sup>? In 2015, the Jays could send Cecil, Sanchez and Osuna to the mound to cover those innings. That is incredibly strong, especially since Brett Cecil was one of the best relievers in the entire game last year. Obviously, Osuna has remained a constant but the other two spots have been up for grabs for the majority of the year. The year started out with Drew Storen, Bad Cecil, and Gavin Floyd in those spots, and to call it a trainwrekc wouldn&#8217;t exactly be out of line. The situation seems to have stabilized somewhat later. The acquisition of Jason Grilli from the Atlanta Braves turned out to be an instrumental pick-up, as the Jays had now found their 8<sup>th</sup> inning guy. It seems the team has even found a 7th inning man in Joaquin Benoit, though I keep waiting for an implosion from the shaky right-hander.</p>
<p>The problem is that a bullpen is clearly <i>more</i> than just the three guys you turn to with a late lead. A team needs bridges to keep a game close, or if their starter only goes five innings. The club&#8217;s primary problem of late has been finding a consistent option to fill that role. Joe Biagini held the job for a while, but it looks like the workload is catching up to him. In his last 10 games, the rookie righthander has a 7.36 ERA (9 runs in 11 innings) and has allowed a gruesome six walks and three home runs. That kind of performance can quickly turn a lot of winnable games into lost causes. I imagine the Jays will be cautious in how they utilize him going forward, but unless they start using Brett Cecil for full innings, there isn&#8217;t really a better option.</p>
<p>After yesterday’s game, the Jays have an 83-68 record, totalling 151 games played. There are 11 games left toward the march to the post-season and the Blue Birds find themselves four games back of the division leading Red Sox. The club needs to make up at least two games in the next eight to have a chance at the division in the final series. The Jays are not what they were last year. They cannot rely solely on hitting home runs. They need to pitch well, have a tight defense and convert on the offensive chances they generate. It isn’t a flashy style but it appears the team is heading toward a wild card berth and good pitching and sturdy defensive is typically less volatile than hitting home runs.</p>
<p><i>Lead Photo: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports</i></p>
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		<title>Recap: Red Sox 11, Blue Jays 8; Big Papi Ends His Toronto Career With a Bang</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/09/11/recap-red-sox-11-blue-jays-8-big-papi-ends-his-toronto-career-with-a-bang/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 2016 21:14:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Mercer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recaps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Boston Red Sox]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=6503</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This game was wild from the very first inning. Mookie Betts hit a double over Kevin Pillar&#8217;s head in centre, a play Pillar usually makes, which cashed in the games first run. However, it was far from the last one in a high scoring affair. Edwin Encarnacion answered in the bottom of the first inning [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This game was wild from the very first inning. Mookie Betts hit a double over Kevin Pillar&#8217;s head in centre, a play Pillar usually makes, which cashed in the games first run. However, it was far from the last one in a high scoring affair. Edwin Encarnacion answered in the bottom of the first inning with a home run, tying up the game at one. Then the Jays fell behind 4-1 after a Jackie Bradley Jr. three-run shot. Aaron Sanchez looked quite awful today. He wasn&#8217;t able to locate his pitches with any resemblance of effectiveness, specifically his sinker. The Jays continued to rebound despite the lacklustre pitching, as in the third inning, Troy Tulowitzki hit a monster grand slam which gave the Blue Jays the lead at 6-4. It did not last long, however, as Sanchez gave up two in the next inning and got the quick (but deserved) hook from John Gibbons.</p>
<p>There were a lot more home runs in this affair. Edwin hit another, Hanley Ramirez cranked a shot to the flight deck and Ortiz gave the deafening blow, launching a three run shot to right field. Good riddance, Big Papi. The Jays lost a series they needed to win. There isn&#8217;t much time left but the Jays have to quickly turn it around in September. Thus far, they are 2-7 in the month, which is not even close to good enough for a team in a TIGHT playoff race.</p>
<h3>Top Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>It is tough to imagine that the top play of the game does not go to Troy Tulowitzki, who hit a grand slam in the third inning. In fact, the top play goes to Big Papi, who cranked a three-run homer off of Joaqiun Benoit in the sixth inning. The Red Sox were down by one run at the time and immediately pulled themselves out in front by two thanks to Ortiz. He attributed 0.367 WPA for the Red Sox which was clearly the defining play in the entire game. Ortiz also passed Jimmy Foxx on the all-time home run leaderboard; Big Papi hit his 535th home run to claim sole possession of #18 on the list. Next in his sights, is Yankee legend Micky Mantle with 536.</p>
<h3>Bottom Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>The worst play of the game goes to Devon Travis in the sixth inning, when he was facing submariner Brad Ziegler. The Jays were down two runs at that time and Ryan Goins was on first base with no outs. Travis grounded out weakly to shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who was able to turn the double play with ease. A promising inning turned quickly negative with one weak swing of the bat from the Jays DH on Sunday. The double play detracted 0.118 WPA from the Blue Jays&#8217; chance of winning.</p>
<h3>Tulowitzki!</h3>
<p>In the third inning, the Jays had the bases loaded against Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz. He walked Russell Martin which allowed Donaldson a free pass to home plate. Troy Tulowitzki stepped up and did not wait for Buchholz to get settled into the at-bat. On the first pitch, Tulowitzki launched an absolute bomb to deep left field clearing the bases and tallying four runs for the Jays. Although Tulowitzki hasn&#8217;t hit a grand slam since 2008, he has been tearing the cover off of the ball as of late. In the last month, he has hit just under .300; a marked improvement upon earlier in the season. On Sunday, Tulowitzki went 4-5 and has finally begun to play like the Tulo that Colorado Rockies fans witnessed for years. If the Jays plan on making a surge at the end of the season, Tulowitzki will certainly be in the middle of the action.</p>
<h3>Up Next</h3>
<p>The Blue Jays are blessed with an incredibly easy portion of their schedule considering it is September and it feels like every game has been against a division rival recently. The Tampa Bay Rays are coming to the Rogers Centre beginning Monday. Then the Jays play the Angels and the Mariners afterwards; all of these series are winnable, and must be won if the Jays want to claim the division title.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Recap: Yankees 7, Blue Jays 6; A Crushing End to an Incredible Game</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/09/06/recap-yankees-7-blue-jays-6-a-crushing-end-to-an-incredible-game/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Sep 2016 02:56:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Mercer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recaps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New York Yankees]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=6362</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well, that was an up-and-down game; I&#8217;m not really sure how to feel about it. I thought Aaron Sanchez pitched pretty well, throwing the ball low in the zone and generating a ton of ground balls. His pitch count was low throughout the game, a sign that he was able to get batters out quickly. [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well, that was an up-and-down game; I&#8217;m not really sure how to feel about it. I thought Aaron Sanchez pitched pretty well, throwing the ball low in the zone and generating a ton of ground balls. His pitch count was low throughout the game, a sign that he was able to get batters out quickly. The offense was alright for the majority of the game but truly came through in the clutch during the eighth inning. Troy Tulowitzki hit a laser through the middle of the diamond for a single with two outs; bringing playoff-aficionado Dalton Pompey into the game as a pinch runner. Melvin Upton Jr. really showed me something in his at-bat against lefty Tommy Layne, drawing an eight pitch walk. Unlikely hero, Kevin Pillar came to the plate in a big spot and he delivered. He stroked a two run double over left fielder Brett Gardner&#8217;s head, giving the Jays a 4-3 lead.</p>
<p>All seemed in line for the Jays to mop up a clean win from there on out&#8230; if only that were the case. There was much more drama in the next six outs than anyone could have predicted. Jason Grilli came in and quickly eliminated the possibility for Pillar to be the hero. Without going into excruciating detail, the Jays found themselves down by three runs going into the top of the ninth, courtesy of a triple and home run. Grilli has been so good for the Jays, but he was bound to have a bad outing; it just really sucks that it happened against the Yankees down the stretch.</p>
<p>Now, it seemed like the Yankees had the easy route to the win, although Betances was due to face the top of the Blue Jays lineup. Bautista and Donaldson led the inning off with walks, immediately bringing Edwin up as the tying run. Encarnacion obviously struck catcher Gary Sanchez&#8217;s glove on the downstroke of his swing, causing both Edwin and Sanchez to miss the ball. Somehow, this went unobserved by all four umpires watching the play and Edwin was not awarded first base. On the tenth pitch of the at-bat, he hit a grounder right back up the middle. He busted it (and I mean busted it) down the line, beating the throw by a slim margin and cashing in a run. After Upton beat out another infield single, Pillar was back up with the chance to cause some magic with only one out and the bases loaded. This time he failed to pull the trigger on a breaking pitch down the pipe and was left to toss hit bat around the dugout. The Blue Jays last chance to score runs came down to Justin Smoak. Smoaky put a great swing on a pitch down and on the outer half of the plate. He drilled it to left field. I confess, I thought it was gone right off the bat. Gardner kept going back and back, he turned around and jumped right at the wall. His leap brought his glove one foot under the top of the wall, the ball fell into his glove, his momentum made him crash against the wall and he almost lost it&#8230; it was so close. He closed his glove at the last second to keep hold of the ball and win the game for the Yankees.</p>
<p>As I stated at the start of this lengthy recap (which only recounted six outs), I don&#8217;t know how to feel. Crushed, obviously. But that was one of the most exciting regular season games of baseball I have watched. The team really has to bounce back and take the next game against New York.</p>
<h3>Top Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>Kevin Pillar gets the top play of the game, attributing 0.500 WPA with one swing of the bat in the eighth inning. The Jays were trailing by a run and he cashed in two with a massive double over Gardner&#8217;s head.</p>
<h3>Bottom Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>By WPA, the worst play of the game goes to Smoak in the last at-bat of the heavyweight bout. His flyout at the wall to Gardner decreased the Jays chance of winning by -0.231 WPA. I understand that, as this was the final nail in the coffin, but I am going to go off the board and award my worst play of the game. It came the at-bat prior. Kevin Pillar struck out swinging on a curve ball down the middle of the zone. The bases were loaded with one out. A ball to the outfield ties the game. Any ball in play has the potential to tie the game, but he struck out. He detracted -0.225 WPA with that play, so all-in-all, it was very close to Smoak&#8217;s at-bat. I have never seen the same player get the top play and the bottom play of the game but this game was that wild.</p>
<h3>Sanchez continues to cruise</h3>
<p>I have discussed a lot of this game, but essentially none of that has covered the Jays starter (and the AL&#8217;s ERA leader!), Aaron Sanchez. His final line was seven innings, allowing three runs to score on five hits, while striking out four and walking two. He seemed pretty sharp all night long except in the seventh when he gave up two runs. No fault on Gibbons for not pulling him earlier, his pitch count was low and he was breezing through the middle innings of the game. Sanchez is scheduled to start next against the Red Sox, and the Jays need him to be at minimum as sharp as tonight, likely more. He hasn&#8217;t gone more than seven innings since July 4th, I&#8217;m hoping that he can spin his first complete game next week!</p>
<h3>Up Next</h3>
<p>The Jays have the finale against the Yankees tomorrow night, and it feels like a must win ball game to be honest. First pitch at 7:05 PM ET.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Dalton Pompey is Stealing a Postseason Spot</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/09/06/dalton-pompey-is-stealing-a-postseason-spot/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Sep 2016 14:46:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Mercer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=6326</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Prior to this past week, when Dalton Pompey was selected to the major league club as a September call-up, he had not donned a Blue Jays uniform in 2016. The last time he had been seen wearing the jersey was in the ninth inning of game six against the Kansas City Royals. Pompey ended that game standing [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Prior to this past week, when Dalton Pompey was selected to the major league club as a September call-up, he had not donned a Blue Jays uniform in 2016. The last time he had been seen wearing the jersey was in the ninth inning of game six against the Kansas City Royals. Pompey ended that game standing on third base with the Jays losing by one run. I don&#8217;t mean to bring up rough memories, but I was looking into Dalton Pompey&#8217;s playoff usage and if he was successful last year. I forgot that Dalton was standing on third because he stole two bases consecutively after coming into the game as a pinch runner for Russell Martin. The Jays were down by one run and Martin led the inning off with a single. Below is a table that shows the Jays chance to win the game going into the inning and after every play that occurs.</p>
<p><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/09/T9-KC-v-Jays-Game-Six.png"><img class=" size-full wp-image-6333 aligncenter" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/09/T9-KC-v-Jays-Game-Six.png" alt="T9 - KC v Jays - Game Six" width="790" height="200" /></a></p>
<p>As you can see, Pompey got in the game when that Jays had a 36 percent chance of winning. He then increased the Jays chances of winning the game by 19 percent without ever even picking up a bat. He brought the Jays into a situation where it is difficult to not score a run. Then in his first game back this September, Pompey entered as a pinch-runner and stole second easily on the the very first pitch, before scoring the eventual winning run. If Pompey can be this useful a weapon, then why do the Jays not have in on the major league team for the entirety of the season?</p>
<p>The obvious answer is that the team does not have a spot for him to play. There was a small battle in spring training between Pompey and Michael Saunders, but the battle was really with Saunders health. If he could stay healthy, then he had the job. Pompey was sent to AAA with the intention of getting him everyday playing time to develop as a hitter. For the majority of the season this is what occurred, however, Pompey dealt with a rash of injuries that limited his plate appearances. To give credit when credit is due, the front office got that decision correct. Saunders was an all-star this season and has been a productive player for Toronto.</p>
<p>It is one thing to make the 40-man September roster and another thing to make the post-season roster. However, Pompey looks poised to be on the playoff roster again this season if the Jays make the dance in October. Why does the team value a player like Pompey in the post-season but not the regular season? The short answer is that the playoffs make it easier to add someone like Pompey to the roster who has one specific job because they can trim down on the starting pitcher numbers. My theory <em>was</em> that teams value speed more in the postseason, but it dawned on me that it&#8217;s not speed itself that teams are seeking.</p>
<p>I believe postseason teams are trying to increase their percentage to win baseball games (obviously), and they do so by improving on the margins. Your core pieces are not going to be changed, so trying to improve at the fringe is the easiest option. Speed just happened to be the most predictable way of doing so.  For example, increasing on the margins in baseball can mean your base runners consistently go first-to-third on a single, putting you in a better position to score, or they put pressure on the defense by stealing and moving them around as the pitch is being delivered, opening up holes. When combined over the duration of a game, these little moment can add up. Improving on the margins can also mean adding bench power, or a specialty reliever, but those skills are inconsistent. Speed, as they say, never slumps.</p>
<p>It is becoming evident that Pompey is an elite base runner and base stealer. That also happens to be a rarity for the Jays. If Pompey is not on the club, there next fastest guy on the team is newly-acquired Melvin Upton Jr, who has 25 steals on the year. Upton has the ability to swipe a bag, but there is a very good chance that optimal lineup has him starting, leaving him unavailable to sub in for a slower player in a key spot. Beyond him, you&#8217;re looking at guys like Darwin Barney or Ezequiel Carrera, neither of whom is a difference-maker on the bases (despite Carrera&#8217;s overall foot speed).</p>
<p>Pompey is the only player off the bench that John Gibbons can call upon and feel comfortable that he will do something to enhance his position on the bases. If someone like Dalton Pompey can &#8216;steal&#8217; a game for you that perhaps you have no business winning, then he has proved his worth tenfold. R.A. Dickey almost certainly will be left off a postseason roster, and it looks like that spot will be &#8220;stolen&#8221; by the young Canadian speedster, Dalton Pompey.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Recap: Rays 8, Blue Jays 3; Stone Hands Sink Jays In Opener</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/09/02/recap-rays-8-blue-jays-3-stone-hands-sink-jays-in-opener/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Sep 2016 02:26:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Mercer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recaps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tampa Bay Rays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=6239</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Jays played a sloppy game against the Rays in the series opener in Tropicana Field, losing 8-3. Toronto was unable to field the ball cleanly all game and it was largely their defense which lost them the game. The offense didn&#8217;t produce either. Donaldson and Encarnacion hit back-to-back doubles in the first which showed [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Jays played a sloppy game against the Rays in the series opener in Tropicana Field, losing 8-3. Toronto was unable to field the ball cleanly all game and it was largely their defense which lost them the game. The offense didn&#8217;t produce either. Donaldson and Encarnacion hit back-to-back doubles in the first which showed promise for the how the game would turn out but it was anything but. Stroman, who looked good through the first few frames, began to miss his spots and throw the ball over the heart of the plate. Tampa hasn&#8217;t been tremendous this year, but they don&#8217;t miss meatballs down the middle, as Logan Morrison did against Marcus Stroman tonight. All in all, a bad game for the Jays and they have a chance to win the series by taking the next two in a row at the Trop<em>. </em></p>
<h3>Top Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>The play that really broke the game open was Logan Morrison&#8217;s two-run homer in the sixth inning off of Marcus Stroman. The game was tied prior to the ball clearing the fence. Morrison cranked a sinker from Stroman which stayed up about thigh-high but sat right on the inside half of the plate. Logan put a picture-perfect swing on it and the Rays never relinquished the lead after. That home run increased the Rays&#8217; chance of winning by 0.167 WPA.</p>
<h3>Bottom Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>The worst play of the night is awarded to Melvin Upton Jr. In the sixth inning, the Jays had something going with men on first and second, albeit with two outs. Upton grounded back straight to the pitcher, Danny Farquhar, who quite literally sprinted off the mound toward first base. It wasn&#8217;t a terrible play by WPA standards, only decreasing the Jays chance of winning by -0.064. Having said that, it would be nice for Upton to put together some good at-bats. The results have been better for Melvin lately but he swings at too many borderline pitches that he can&#8217;t do much with even if he connects.</p>
<h3>Sloppy Game</h3>
<p>That may have been the sloppiest game I&#8217;ve watched the Jays play all year. In the third inning, the Rays had a man on first base when Kevin Kiermaier hit a groundball at Devon Travis. Travis had to move to his left and attempted to get the lead runner at second; in his haste he bobbled the ball and both runners were safe. Donaldson, who could be compared to a vacuum cleaner, allowed a ball to pinball in between his legs tonight. The Jays were even having trouble connecting with the cut off man. Michael Saunders fielded a ball in right-centre and threw it back into the infield. He missed both Travis and Tulowitzki, with the ball eventually residing at Donaldson&#8217;s feet. I&#8217;m not sure what came over the Jays, who are usually quite sure-handed defensively, but I am glad it all happened in one game. Hopefully, that type of performance is behind the club.</p>
<h3>Up Next</h3>
<p>This was the first game of a three game series against the Rays in the lovely Trop. The Blue Birds were beaten down tonight, but they have a chance to take flight again tomorrow at 6 pm ET, in a game that will have Marco Estrada facing off against Chris Archer.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Kim Klement &#8211; USA Today Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Recap: Blue Jays 5, Orioles 1; Donaldson Stays Hot At Camden Yard</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/08/29/toronto-5-baltimore-1-blue-jays-donaldson-stays-hot-at-camden-yard/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 30 Aug 2016 02:11:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Mercer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recaps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2016 Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AL East]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baltimore Orioles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Josh Donalson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marco Estrada]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=6086</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Jays took the series opener 5-1 against Baltimore at Camden Yards. They are now beginning to assert their dominance as the premier bird in the AL East, pushing their lead to a commanding four games over the Orioles. Hardy hit a home run to left field against Estrada in the first inning. Melvin Upton Jr. [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Jays took the series opener 5-1 against Baltimore at Camden Yards. They are now beginning to assert their dominance as the premier bird in the AL East, pushing their lead to a commanding four games over the Orioles. Hardy hit a home run to left field against Estrada in the first inning. Melvin Upton Jr. had a bead on the ball and time his jump at the wall perfectly. What he did not account for was a Baltimore fan with a glove directly above him. As Upton rose to catch the ball in the stands, the fan stuck his glove out and essentially inhibited Upton&#8217;s glove from continuing it&#8217;s upward trajectory. The ball fell right into the Baltimore fan&#8217;s glove. Kudos to him for denying Upton an absolute web gem. The Jays were in a hole quickly, but it didn&#8217;t remain there for long. In the 4th, Josh Donaldson hit his 34th home run to tie the game, and Tulowitzki singled home a run for the lead later in the inning. From there on out, the Jays didn&#8217;t allow a run, and piled on three more of their own, including a Jose Bautista solo shot. A shoutout to Estrada who adapted to the Baltimore strategy and strung together seven impressive innings of work. In doing so, he cast away the doubt that was surrounding him and his performance as of late.</p>
<h3>Top Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>In a game with few runs, it is unsurprising that the top play is awarded to a swing that deposited a ball on the other side of the fence. Keeping up with his performance from Sunday&#8217;s game, Josh Donaldson continued to put the middle of the bat on the baseball. His solo home run in the 4th inning tied the game 1-1. The Jays never trailed for the remainder of the game, never allowing another Baltimore run to score. Donaldson contributed 0.126 WPA with that swing. An honorable mention goes to Jose Bautista for his solo home run in the 6th inning. He compiled 0.120 WPA while increasing his home run total to 16 on the season.</p>
<h3>Bottom Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>In the 7th inning, with the Orioles trailing by two runs; Matt Wieters stepped to the plate and hit a rocket. Unfortunately for him, it was straight into the waiting mitt of first baseman &#8220;Smoaky Bear&#8221;. Mark Trumbo, who was on first, took a surprising step farther off the bag which made it an extremely clear cut double play. Even if Trumbo broke back immediately, he probably didn&#8217;t have a chance to reach the bag before Smoak. Wieters gets credit for a hard hit, worst play of the game. He detracted 0.133 WPA from his team&#8217;s chance to win the game. That&#8217;s a tough way to pick up this award, Matt.</p>
<h3>Estrada Returns To Form</h3>
<p>Going into this start, there was general trepidation surrounding Marco Estrada place amongst the starting rotation. In his last two starts, he had failed to make it past the 5th inning in either occasion. All told, he allowed 11 earned runs in only 9.0 innings of work. This late into the season, Estrada was able to increase his ERA from 2.95 to 3.47; a remarkable feat for starts number 21 and 22. However, Marco reverted to his previous form tonight, going seven innings, allowing only four hits which amounted to only one run.</p>
<p>I thought the Orioles hitters were sitting on his change up early on in the game. This is a trend that appeared evident in the last two starts when Estrada struggled. In about the third inning, it appeared that Martin and Marco altered the gameplan. They began throwing more curveballs early in the count and jamming righties with fastballs. After they had established the curve, and to a certain degree, the cutter; Estrada began to toss in more change ups once again. The ability to pick up on what hitters are looking for and adjust mid-game is truly an impressive feat. With Marco&#8217;s philosophy of not shaking off the catcher, Martin likely deserves the credit here; but in any event, the Orioles hitters struggled between innings three and seven, accumulating only one hit.</p>
<h3>MVP.</h3>
<p>There isn&#8217;t much new to say about Josh Donaldson. The man is in another realm right now. In the first inning, he tagged a ball to dead center field that required an impressive catch by Nolan Reimold to prevent extra bases. Reimold found himself flat on his back after his encounter with the wall. Donaldson wasn&#8217;t to be denied. In the 4th inning, Josh did what Josh does best, bring the Jays back to square one with one crack of the bat.</p>
<h3>Up Next</h3>
<p>This was only the opener and the Jays are in for two more thrillers. J.A. Happ takes the mound for the Blue Birds tomorrow night, with Aaron Sanchez coming back up from Dunedin on Wednesday. Their counterparts are <del>recently demoted</del> Ubaldo Jimenez and Yovani Gallardo respectively.</p>
<p>Lead Photo credit &#8211; <em>Evan Habeeb</em>-<strong>USA TODAY Sports</strong></p>
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		<title>J.A Happ: The Blue Jays&#8217; Unsung Hero</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/08/22/j-a-happ-blue-jays-unsung-hero/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2016 11:29:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Mercer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[J.A. Happ]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=5763</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Toronto Blue Jays have had many &#8220;aces&#8221; throughout the course of the 2016 season. Prior to the season&#8217;s beginning, everyone had Marcus Stroman penciled in as the club’s top man. Stroman had yet to complete a full season in the MLB, but after last season’s heroic comeback and performance in the post season, everyone [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Toronto Blue Jays have had many &#8220;aces&#8221; throughout the course of the 2016 season. Prior to the season&#8217;s beginning, everyone had Marcus Stroman penciled in as the club’s top man. Stroman had yet to complete a full season in the MLB, but after last season’s heroic comeback and performance in the post season, <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/marcus-stroman-discovered-roy-halladays-sinker/" target="_blank">everyone was ready to crown Stroman the next Roy Halladay</a>. Stroman came out of the gate exceptionally slow and it hasn’t been until recently that he has turned on the jets and shown sustained success.</p>
<p>In the early portion of the season, however, the Jays had multiple starters step up and fill the void; namely Aaron Sanchez and Marco Estrada, Toronto’s two all-star pitchers. Sanchez, who was uncertain of even making the rotation, and Estrada, who has shown that 2015 was no fluke, put the rotation on their back and carried the brunt of the load for the first half. Marco has potentially put too much on his back (okay, a terrible pun); which has limited his effectiveness and ability to go deep into starts. Sanchez has been nothing short of brilliant all season long, even with the inordinate amount of drama and speculation regarding his future.</p>
<p>Lost in all of this has been J.A. Happ. No disrespect to J.A., but he is rather easy to forget. He doesn’t throw the ball in the upper-90s, he doesn’t have an insane wipeout slider that racks up loads of strikeouts; but he is a model for consistency. Consistency itself is not flashy. Most baseball fans would rather see Stephen Strasburg pitch because he <em>might </em>strikeout 15 guys, despite being nearly equally effective this season. I would imagine that most managers, and general managers alike, love what Happ brings to the table. Every five days you can count on J.A. to throw between six and seven innings and allow about two runs to score. Now let’s delve into <em>how </em>Happ has been so consistent throughout the season.</p>
<p>Despite Happ throwing the ball from the south-side of the mound, it makes no difference to him which side of the plate the batter stands on. This season righties have slashed .228/.288/.675, whereas lefties have hit .238/.304/.650. Even though the result is similar, the approach Happ implements is quite different. When facing a left handed batter, J.A. eliminates the use of his changeup and cutter, focusing primarily on executing with the fastball (fourseam and sinker) as well as the slider. Against righties, the mentality changes. Happ reduces the amount of fourseam fastballs he throws and replaces them primarily with changeups. These changeups will dive to outside part of the plate to righties. As a result, Happ has generated a groundball on 44% of changeups he throws to righties that are put into play. This is a clear cut sign of weak contact.</p>
<p>There are some Jays pitchers that seem to care if they are playing at Rogers Centre or on the road. To Mr. Consistency these issues are trivial. As one can expect, Happ performs as well at home as he does on the road. This is somewhat surprising as Happ does not rank near the top in ground ball percentage and Rogers Centre is a known launch pad. Having said this, Happ does display a sinker with some quality horizontal and vertical movement on it. His teammates, Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez, have put on a clinic for how to induce ground balls this season; and there is no better location to execute this strategy than in a hitter’s friendly park.</p>
<p>There is tremendous value in a pitcher that can provide 200 innings of work in a season, even if they are average of slightly below average. Not to poke fun of R.A. Dickey, but he hasn’t been stellar for the Jays since they acquired him, however, you can always count on him for 200+ innings. Barring any injuries, it appears Happ will throw in excess of 200 innings as he is currently at 150 with approximately eight or nine more starts to go. The major difference with Happ this season is the quality of innings that he is providing the Jays. I believe it would be a stretch to think that J.A. Happ is currently in the conversation of winning the AL Cy-Young but he is certainly in that second tier of pitchers. Consider that statement! This is a pitcher that when the club signed him in the offseason for three years, $36 million, no one really took note other than to say ‘Oh, we got J.A. Happ again…’</p>
<p>The front office deserves a shout out for believing in the <a href="http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2015/10/7/9464865/j-a-happ-pirates-the-cult-of-ray-searage-fastball" target="_blank">well-documented changes that Happ made toward the end of last season in Pittsburgh</a>. Many people were skeptical, questioning if Happ would improve the rotation, but here we are nearing the end of August and the Jays have the best rotation in the AL, largely helped by Happ’s contributions every five days. Am I alone in thinking that if the Jays found themselves in a wild card game, Happ might be the pitcher I want on the mound to get the win? After all, the man does have a MLB-leading 17 wins to his name thus far. Consistency pays off it seems, and Happ has been the unsung hero of the Jays team all season long.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Recap: Blue Jays 6, Indians 5; Jays Bounce Back, Hold On For The Win</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/08/20/recap-blue-jays-6-indians-5-jays-bounce-back-hold-on-for-the-win/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 21 Aug 2016 02:26:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Mercer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recaps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cleveland Indians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=5743</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Blue Jays had their bats primed and ready to go at the beginning of this game. They scored five runs over the first four innings with two opposite field homers. Russell Martin continued his hot streak by launching a solo shot to right centre. In the next inning, Melvin Upton Jr. showcased his own [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Blue Jays had their bats primed and ready to go at the beginning of this game. They scored five runs over the first four innings with two opposite field homers. Russell Martin continued his hot streak by launching a solo shot to right centre. In the next inning, Melvin Upton Jr. showcased his own power to the opposite side of the field, hitting a two run homer to nearly an identical spot. The Blue Jays other runs were scored in completely the opposite fashion. Devon Travis hit a slow chopper up the third base line with men on second and third and two out. Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez attempted to bare hand the ball and missed it. This allowed Barney to score from third but on a truly heads up play by Goins he saw that the ball went by Ramirez and no one was close to it. So, even though the ball was feet from third base, Goins decided to take the chance and bolt home. His daring decision turned out to be successful and an enormous run for the Blue Jays as they were able to hold on and win by one run.</p>
<h3>Top Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>The Jays had built up a substantial lead going into Cleveland&#8217;s half of the 4th inning. The Bluebirds had tallied five runs and had limited the Tribe to zero. Devon Travis committed an error that likely would have resulted in a double play had he made an accurate throw to second base. This set the stage eventually for Lonnie Chisenhall, who stepped to the plate later that inning with his team already having plated two runs. Cleveland players occupied both first and second, and Chisenhall worked the count against Sanchez, eventually getting a pitch to his liking and depositing it into the bleachers in right-centre field. In one swing, the Jays lead had evaporated and the game was tied. Chisenhall increased his teams chance of winning by 0.284 WPA.</p>
<h3>Bottom Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p><del>Former Blue Jay Frank Francisco</del> Mike Napoli came to the plate in the 8th inning with his team trailing by one run. Francisco Lindor was standing on first base with only one out. In classic Mike Napoli fashion, he ripped the ball straight into the ground toward Devon Travis. Travis moved to his left, threw over to Goins who calmy tossed the ball to Edwin to record the inning-ending double play. Napoli decreased his teams chance to win by -0.145 WPA with one ill-advised swing of the bat.</p>
<h3>Russell Martin Cannot Miss!</h3>
<p>Martin continued his torrid pace of late, hitting another home run tonight and added a single. Over his last six games, Martin has hit 12-24 with six home runs. The man is seeing beach balls at the plate. This season has not been favourable to Martin yet, but this recent streak has helped swing the season around. As the Jays come down the stretch for the post-season, they need everyone to play up to their ceiling; especially those who have been disappointments at the plate so far. It is evident that Tulowitzki has been mashing the ball recently, and now Martin has joined him.</p>
<h3>Up Next</h3>
<p>The Jays finish up the series with Cleveland tomorrow at 1:10 pm with <del>staff ace</del> Marcus Stroman going up against former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Rick Osentoski &#8211; USA Today Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Recap: Blue Jays 4, Astros 2; Martin Mashes To Tie Up The Series</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/08/13/recap-blue-jays-4-astros-2-martin-mashes-to-tie-up-the-series/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Aug 2016 00:02:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eric Mercer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recaps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Houston Astros]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[On a thunderous day in Toronto, the Rogers Centre crowd were treated to few fireworks- until the 6th inning, when Russell Martin stepped up to the plate. The Jays outlook went from bleak to bright after Martin crushed a full count, two out offering from reliever James Hoyt to dead centre, scoring three. Prior to that, [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On a thunderous day in Toronto, the Rogers Centre crowd were treated to few fireworks- until the 6th inning, when Russell Martin stepped up to the plate. The Jays outlook went from bleak to bright after Martin crushed a full count, two out offering from reliever James Hoyt to dead centre, scoring three. Prior to that, Sanchez had trouble getting out of the first inning. Uncharacteristically, Aaron allowed a single and two doubles which scored two runs, putting the Jays down before having a chance to swing the bats. The blow from Martin turned out to be deadly, as setup man Jason Grilli and closer Roberto Osuna came on and closed the game out quite smoothly. Josh Donaldson was the cause of the other Blue Jays run, hitting a solo shot in the first inning to centre. Donaldson is continuing to put his name in the conversation for the league MVP.</p>
<h3>Top Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>The top play was the aforementioned home run by Russell Martin to swing the Jays around and ultimately clinch the win. Martin laid off a close pitch on a 2-0 count which allowed him to be selective and put pressure on Hoyt to hit the zone. On the full count, Martin crushed a hanging slider to dead centre cashing three. Russell added 0.416 WPA by hitting that home run alone.</p>
<h3>Bottom Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>The worst play of the game is awarded to Houston catcher Evan Gattis. In the 6th as well, Gattis found himself facing Sanchez with one man on and one out. At this time, the Astros were still up by one run and trying to extend their lead. Gattis ended up grounding into an inning ending double play. Gattis only decreased the Astros chance to win by -0.057 WPA, which is not an insanely significant margin.</p>
<h3>Sanchez Continues to Look Strong</h3>
<p>Sanchez had trouble in the first but appeared to find the groove he has been in all season long after that. During the rest of his six innings, he only allowed four base runners in total; three of them via a walk. When all was said and done, Aaron went 7.0 innings, giving up five hits, three walks, two runs and striking out six. He appeared to be pulling the ball off the plate a little more than we usually see. It is encouraging to see Sanchez be able to limit the opposition to two runs while not executing his pitches as well as we have become accustomed to.</p>
<h3>Trend to Watch</h3>
<p>Devon Travis didn&#8217;t have a hit today, going 0-4, but continue to watch the Jays young second baseman coming down the final stretch of the season. His performance this season has been tremendous and if the Jays want to build a lead atop the AL East, Travis will need to maintain his high level of play. His defense was never considered to be above average until this season where it has been exceptional. Before his shoulder injury in 2015, the league got a glimpse of what Travis could do offensively, now he is also showcasing his defensive skills.</p>
<h3>Up Next</h3>
<p>The Jays play the rubber match of this series against Houston on Sunday at 1:07 pm when Marcus Stroman takes the hill. After that, they head to New York for a weekday series against the A-Rod-less Yankees.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro &#8211; USA Today Sports</em></p>
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