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	<title>Toronto &#187; San Diego Padres</title>
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		<title>Recap: Padres 8, Blue Jays 4; Jays Lose Momentum After Unfortunate Loss</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/27/recap-padres-8-blue-jays-4-jays-lose-momentum-after-sad-loss/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jul 2016 18:33:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Evan Peaslee]]></dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=4948</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For those that believe in momentum in baseball, Wednesday&#8217;s afternoon matinée between the Toronto Blue Jays and the San Diego Padres at the Rogers Centre dispelled that notion rather quickly. After the Jays&#8217; thrilling come-from-behind victory Tuesday over the Padres the home squad&#8217;s lackluster play on both sides of the field made for a sloppy and energy killing [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For those that believe in momentum in baseball, Wednesday&#8217;s afternoon matinée between the Toronto Blue Jays and the San Diego Padres at the Rogers Centre dispelled that notion rather quickly. After the Jays&#8217; thrilling come-from-behind victory Tuesday over the Padres the home squad&#8217;s lackluster play on both sides of the field made for a sloppy and energy killing game. Toronto look befuddled at the plate and in the field for much of the game, minus a brief glimmer in the home half of the sixth, leading to a decisive 8-4 Padres victory.</p>
<p>The Jays managed a meager six hits and proved ineffective for much of the night all across the diamond. R.A. Dickey, who got bumped into Wednesday&#8217;s matinée to rest Marco Estrada&#8217;s back and to pit Toronto&#8217;s top three starters against the Baltimore Orioles in their upcoming weekend series, was shaky. The 41-year-old walked four, gave up a pair of home runs, and surrendered six earned runs. Those home runs give Dickey a league-leading 26 home runs against, and was the second-straight appearance where the former Cy Young winner allowed six earned runs against.</p>
<p>All the blame should not fall on Dickey&#8217;s shoulders however. The defense was suspect, and the offense was mostly invisible. A perfect snapshot that summed up the Jays&#8217; day occurred in the top of the fourth inning on Padres&#8217; Christian Bethancourt little league home run. The San Diego catcher hit a double to right-centre field, bouncing up against the wall. Kevin Pillar picked the ball off the wall, bobbled it, dropped it, and lost it between his legs. Ezequiel Carrera picked it up and threw to cutoff man, Devon Travis. Bethancourt was easily at third but Travis threw the ball anyways. Josh Donaldson misplayed the hop and the ball fell behind him, and Bethancourt walked home.</p>
<h3>Top Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>R.A. Dickey has given up his fair share of home runs, including a pair on Wednesday. The first of which, an Adam Rosales two-run shot into the first-row of seats in left-centre field, proved to be the turning point for the Padres.</p>
<p>Rosales took a 0-1 knuckleball into the seats in the third inning, scoring former Jay Brett Wallace, and giving the Padres a 2-0 lead. This play resulted in a 19.6% jump in win expectancy for the Padres, and gave San Diego a lead they would never relinquish.</p>
<h3>Bottom Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>Jose Bautista has struggled since returning to the lineup on Monday, going 1-for-11 with three strikeouts, and he didn&#8217;t help resurrect those numbers Wednesday with a second straight hitless game in four at bats. The biggest of which game just as the Jays looked to be staging a comeback against the Padres. After cutting the deficit to three in the sixth, Josh Thole walked to leadoff the seventh. Bautista followed and took a 1-0 fastball from Brad Hand and promptly hit into a 6-4-3 double play. The Jays win expectancy declined by 9.3%, and following to 7.8% on the day.</p>
<p>The Jays never had another man reach base for the rest of the game.</p>
<h3>Upton scores, Benoit debuts</h3>
<p>Melvin Upton Jr. started his first game as a Blue Jay, and had one shining moment, a moment that proved exactly why the Jays acquired him in the first place. After notching his first hit in the sixth, a single through the right side of the infield, Upton showed off his wheels. Kevin Pillar followed, and hit a two-out liner off the left field wall. Encarnacion scored, and Upton followed shortly thereafter, scoring easily from first to cut the Padres lead to four at the time. It was a nice play, and small indication of what he can offer the Jays moving forward.</p>
<p>Not to be outdone, the newly acquired Joaquin Benoit had some nice moments despite a nervy ninth inning. Benoit struck out two, including former All-Star Matt Kemp, induced a flyout, but did so around two walks. Despite coming in trailing by four, Jays manager John Gibbons didn&#8217;t want the Padres to add to their lead, so he had Brett Cecil warming up in the bullpen if things got away from Benoit.</p>
<h3>Up Next</h3>
<p>The Blue Jays have an off day tomorrow before the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles come to town for a weekend series that starts Friday night. Thanks to Tuesday&#8217;s swift decision to push Marco Estrada back a day the Orioles will be tasked with facing the Jays&#8217; top three starters in the three-game set. Estrada will take the mound Friday, followed by J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez, in a pivotal late-season matchup that could dramatically alter the AL East landscape for the stretch run.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Recap: Blue Jays 7, Padres 6; Toronto Wins a Wild One</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/26/recap-blue-jays-7-padres-6-toronto-wins-a-wild-one/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jul 2016 03:50:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sean Addis]]></dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=4913</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Toronto Blue Jays and the San Diego Padres played the middle game of the three game series Tuesday night. Prior to the 7:07 PM ET start there was big news surrounding these teams. The Blue Jays acquired outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. and a lot of cas, from the Padres for Single-A pitcher Hansel Rodriguez. [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Toronto Blue Jays and the San Diego Padres played the middle game of the three game series Tuesday night. Prior to the 7:07 PM ET start there was big news surrounding these teams. The Blue Jays acquired outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. and a lot of cas, from the Padres for Single-A pitcher Hansel Rodriguez. Upton didn&#8217;t start in this game, but did make his way into it in the later innings.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays sent inconsistent starter Marcus Stroman to the mound against the Padres righty Andrew Cashner. Stroman pitched effectively the first two times through the order, only surrendering three hits and one run. However, the third time through, he left pitches up that resulted in more hard contact, including a three-run homer by Alex Dickerson, who has killed the Blue Jays in this series. Stroman&#8217;s final line was 6 2/3 innings, seven hits, four runs, one walk and seven strikeouts. It could have been worse if not for reliever Joe Biagini, getting the final out, stranding runners at second and third to end the seventh.</p>
<p>After surrendering a two-run home run to Josh Donaldson, Andrew Cashner settled down, allowing just a single run on a solo shot by Justin Smoak in the bottom of the fifth inning. Overall, Cashner was impressive against the stacked Blue Jays lineup with a pitching line of six innings, four hits, three runs, three walks and six strikeouts. He left the game with a 4-3 lead after six. This performance was probably his last this season as a member of the Padres.</p>
<p>The Jays tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning due to a wild pitch, and the teams needed extra innings to determine the winner. San Diego scored two runs in the top of the twelfth inning on a home run to give them a short lived lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Blue Jays mounted their comeback by taking advantage of the wildness of the Padres bullpen. With runners on second and third and one out, Devon Travis had one of his most impressive at bats you&#8217;ll ever see. He battled against Padres reliever Carlos Villanueva in a 14-pitch at bat, resulting in a walk to load the bases. Paul Clemens came in and proceed to walk in a run and give up a game tying fielder choice to Donaldson. Similarly to how the Jays tied the game in the seventh, they won it in the twelfth, as Clemens uncorked a wild pitch to score Devon Travis.</p>
<h3>Top Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>In the top of the twelfth inning, Jesse Chavez, in his third inning of relief, gave up a two out double by Will Myers followed by a home run by Matt Kemp.  This increased the Padres win expectancy by 44.7 percentage points and for the time being looked to be enough for the win.</p>
<h3>Bottom Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>In the bottom of the seventh, with the bases loaded and one out, Jose Bautista came to the plate. He proceeded to strikeout on a ball in the dirt, but the ball got by the catcher and Russell Martin scored the tying run. This was a missed opportunity for the Blue Jays to take the lead and reduced their win expectancy by 15.4 percentage points.</p>
<h3>Welcome to Toronto, Melvin</h3>
<p>The Padres lefty reliever Brad Hand entered the game in the bottom of the seventh protecting a one run lead. He started the inning throwing eight straight balls, walking Russell Martin and Kevin Pillar. Justin Smoak was due and Gibbons decided to use the better hitter against left-handed pitching, new Blue Jay Melvin Upton Jr. He proceeded to hit the ball to the right side for a fielder&#8217;s choice, but moved the eventual tying run to third. An anti-climactic debut, but Toronto fans were able to see an example of his speed as he took second easily on a wild pitch later in the inning.</p>
<h3>Gibby Sacrifices the DH</h3>
<p>In the bottom of the seventh, John Gibbons rolled the dice and pinch hit for Justin Smoak with Upton. The Jays did tie the game, but Gibbons had to move Edwin Encarnacion from designated hitter to first base. As a result, the Blue Jays lost their DH for the rest of the game to be replaced by the pitcher. This required Gibbons to manage the rest of the game National League style. The likely lead to Jesse Chavez pitching one more inning than he would have liked. But it also resulted in Darwin Barney being required to pinch hit in the twelfth, which was instrumental in the Blue Jays comeback.</p>
<h3>Up Next</h3>
<p>Toronto and San Diego will turn around and play an afternoon game tomorrow to wrap up the series. R.A. Dickey (7-11, 4.44 ERA), coming off his worst start of the season Saturday against the Seattle Mariners, will start for the Blue Jays.  He is replacing the scheduled starter Marco Estrada. Since Estrada is just coming off the disabled list, moving Estrada back gives him two more days of rest (with an off day on Thursday) and gets him to start Friday&#8217;s opener against the American League East leading Baltimore Orioles. San Diego will counter with righty Luis Perdomo (4-4, 6.93 ERA). It will be Melvin Upton&#8217;s first start as a Blue Jay and the game will begin at 12:37 PM ET.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Recap: Blue Jays 4, Padres 2; Sanchez Shoves Against San Diego</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/25/recap-blue-jays-4-padres-2-sanchez-shoves-against-san-diego/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jul 2016 02:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Dave Church]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=4872</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Blue Jays were rude hosts to the Padres in their inaugural visit to the Rogers Centre, holding them scoreless until the ninth inning in an eventual 4-2 win. With the Jays sending Aaron Sanchez to the mound, the Padres were definitely going to struggle to score runs. The Jays were going to face the relatively unknown [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Blue Jays were rude hosts to the Padres in their inaugural visit to the Rogers Centre, holding them scoreless until the ninth inning in an eventual 4-2 win. With the Jays sending Aaron Sanchez to the mound, the Padres were definitely going to struggle to score runs. The Jays were going to face the relatively unknown Colin Rea, who came into the game with a 5.01 ERA, so runs against him seemed inevitable.</p>
<p>The game started, and though the Jays had several hard hit balls, it was looking like a sadly familiar story through the first few innings: some liners, some baserunners, but the Jays were unable to make it count. They did get on the board in the fourth inning, after Michael Saunders hit a triple, and promptly came home on a deep sacrifice fly from Troy Tulowitzki. They got two more in the fifth inning, when Kevin Pillar and Devon Travis sandwiched doubles around a Justin Smoak strikeout, and Travis came home two batters later on a Josh Donaldson single. They added an insurance run in the eighth when Tulowitzki hit a ball that very nearly was a home run, but Pillar doubled two batters later to make it academic.</p>
<p>What else can we say about Aaron Sanchez at this point? He was dominant again, with the Padres seeming hilariously over-matched against the young right-hander. Only two players got hits, and only Alex Dickerson got anything more than a single when he hit a double to right field in the seventh inning. Sanchez threw 97 pitches, and the most trouble he got into was in the first inning, when there were two blatantly missed strike calls that led to a walk which was followed by an infield single. But the Padres weren&#8217;t able to make that count, and didn&#8217;t do much else either, mounting just three hits and two walks over Sanchez&#8217;s seven innings of work, striking out seven times.</p>
<p>They did threaten briefly in the ninth inning against Bo Schultz, when Dickerson hit a two-run home run, but Roberto Osuna locked it down quickly, getting the final outs of the game to give the Jays the win.</p>
<h3>Top Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>With the Jays leading 1-0, Kevin Pillar opened the fifth inning with a double to right field. After a Justin Smoak strikeout, Devon Travis cashed him with a broken bat double to left, giving the Jays a 2-0 lead. This second run increased the Jays&#8217; chances to win by 9.9 percentage points.</p>
<h3>Bottom Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>Travis walked to lead off the third inning, and Jose Bautista came to the plate. With this being Rea&#8217;s third walk of the game, and the lineup turning over, it was a great chance for the Jays to get on the board. But Bautista grounded into a double play, erasing both he and Travis and ending the threat. This lowered the Jays&#8217; chances to win by 8.2 percentage points.</p>
<h3>Wallace and Schimpf &#8220;Return&#8221; to the Rogers Centre</h3>
<p>The Padres lineup had a couple of familiar names to those who have followed the Jays&#8217; minor league system for a few years, as both Brett Wallace and Ryan Schimpf were on the card. Wallace was acquired for Michael Taylor in 2009 (not the current Nationals outfielder), and was traded a year and a half later for Anthony Gose, who the Jays later traded for Devon Travis. Given Wallace&#8217;s inability to find a major league home, it&#8217;s safe to say the Jays are happy about how those transactions eventually played out. Schimpf was a fifth round draft pick of the Jays in 2009, and bounced around their minor league system until the end of the 2015 season before signing with the Padres as a free agent. He&#8217;s actually had nine home runs in July for San Diego, making good on his first major league chance so far.</p>
<h3>Tulo Being Tulo</h3>
<p>Early in the season, a Tulowitzki at-bat was about as fun as getting a tooth pulled. He was looking at middle-middle fastballs, his timing seemed to be off, and he wasn&#8217;t driving the ball with any authority. Whether you&#8217;re watching the boxscores or the games themselves, it&#8217;s clear as day that he&#8217;s been much better since roughly the beginning of June, even before his injury. He had several excellent at-bats in this game: his grounder in the first was a missile that allowed Saunders to get to second, his sac fly in the fourth was hit to the warning track in centre field, and he hit a ball in the eighth inning that was a few inches from being a home run. His return to form helped get the Jays through Bautista&#8217;s injury, and with Bautista now back in the lineup, Tulo continuing to drive the ball just makes the lineup even more fearsome.</p>
<h3>Pitchers Putting Up Zeroes</h3>
<p>The Jays came one inning short of two straight shutouts, though they did get 18 straight shutout innings put up by the pitchers, strange considering they did allow 14 runs on Saturday. The Jays&#8217; offense has only scored eleven runs in the four games so far in the home stand, but have won the last two, which is encouraging. It&#8217;s pretty easy to win games when you keep the other team from scoring.</p>
<h3>Up Next</h3>
<p>Tomorrow&#8217;s game is at 7:07 PM ET at the Rogers Centre. The Jays will send Marcus Stroman (8-4, 4.90 ERA) to the mound, and the Padres&#8217; scheduled starter is Andrew Cashner (4-7, 4.79), who has been involved in numerous trade rumors of late. Stroman&#8217;s last start in Arizona was encouraging, picking up a win after eight strong innings where he allowed just one run. Cashner has not had a great season, but his last couple of starts will have looked good to potential suitors, allowing just two runs and striking out 17 batters over 11 and two-thirds innings.</p>
<p>If Cashner does get traded before then, Padres GM A.J. Preller has said they would start Paul Clemens (1-1, 4.91) instead. Clemens, who has operated mostly out of the bullpen for the Padres this year, started and took the loss on July 20th against the Cardinals, throwing five innings and allowing three runs, striking out five batters.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA Today Sports</em></p>
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		<title>You Stay Classy, San Diego: Padres Series Preview</title>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jul 2016 13:58:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays vs. San Diego Padres Monday July 25th &#8211; Wednesday July 27th Written by Mike Passador and Gideon Turk The Blue Jays, fresh off Sunday&#8217;s series salvaging win, will welcome the San Diego Padres into town for a three game set. This marks the middle of a nine game homestand that will cap off against AL East rival [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2 style="text-align: center">Toronto Blue Jays vs. San Diego Padres</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center">Monday July 25th &#8211; Wednesday July 27th</h3>
<p style="text-align: center"><em>Written by <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/author/michaelpassador/" target="_blank">Mike Passador</a> and <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/author/gideonturk/" target="_blank">Gideon Turk</a></em></p>
<p>The Blue Jays, fresh off Sunday&#8217;s series salvaging win, will welcome the San Diego Padres into town for a three game set. This marks the middle of a nine game homestand that will cap off against AL East rival Baltimore.</p>
<p>The Padres come to town as major sellers, making the following three games an interesting opportunity to showcase their wares to Toronto. Despite a second half that&#8217;s included a sweep of San Francisco and a series win against Washington, they&#8217;re battling for the NL West basement with Arizona in what&#8217;s been another frustrating year in San Diego. GM A.J. Preller took a mighty swing at contending immediately when he was hired in 2014 but came up with nothing but air. After the initial push to compete, Preller and the Padres have swung back and traded some of their bigger name pieces for a number of prospects.</p>
<p>Toronto dropped two of three to Seattle, missing an opportunity to take care of business at home against an inferior opponent. They&#8217;ll look to make sure that doesn&#8217;t happen again against San Diego.</p>
<h3>Pitching Matchups:</h3>
<h4>Monday, July 25th– 7:07 PM ET</h4>
<p>Aaron Sanchez vs. Colin Rea</p>
<p>Aaron Sanchez has been chopping up opponent batters all season long and with every passing day it seems more and more likely that he&#8217;ll continue to do that from the Blue Jays rotation and not from the bullpen. <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/07/Screen-Shot-2016-07-24-at-9.55.10-PM.png" target="_blank">All</a> <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/07/Screen-Shot-2016-07-24-at-9.55.17-PM.png" target="_blank">signs</a> have <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/07/Screen-Shot-2016-07-24-at-9.55.23-PM.png" target="_blank">pointed</a> to <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/07/Screen-Shot-2016-07-24-at-9.55.28-PM.png" target="_blank">him</a> not being overly fatigued so far, a good sign as the Blue Jays will likely make their decision on what to do with him based on those levels. As this is an interleague matchup, this will be Sanchez&#8217;s first test against the Padres this season. He has been on a bit of a run lately, as in his last six starts, he&#8217;s allowed just eight runs in 40 innings pitched. His last start, against Arizona, marked only the second time this season where he didn&#8217;t walk a batter, as he got the win while striking out five on only six hits.</p>
<p>The 26-year-old Rea (pronounced ray), has been decidedly below average this season, just like the team he suits up for every five days. In 18 appearances, 17 of which have been starts, Rea has an ERA of 5.01, and has walked 9.6% of the batters he&#8217;s faced. He&#8217;s also had problems with the long ball, allowing 1.16 per nine innings in 2016. He features a wide variety of pitches, with four and two seam fastballs that average 93 mph a piece, a change at 85 mph, a curve at 79 mph, and a cutter at 88 mph.</p>
<h4>Tuesday, July 26th – 7:07 PM ET</h4>
<p>Marcus Stroman vs. Andrew Cashner</p>
<p>It&#8217;s now been three good starts in four tries for Stroman as he tries to bounce back from a miserable first half of the season. Against Arizona last week, Stroman was able to go eight strong innings, walking zero batters, allowing one run on eight hits. How he did it is more impressive, as he used his four seam fastball 19% of the time, the highest number of the season for him. Mixing it up and not becoming a one pitch pitcher is going to be the key for Stroman going forward, as it will allow him to have better games when his control is working, and not blow up even when he doesn&#8217;t have the best command.</p>
<p>As of now, Cashner is scheduled to make this start for San Diego, but with trade rumours flying around involving his name, he may not be on the Padres to pitch against Toronto in this series. Like Stroman, he&#8217;s now had three solid starts in his past four outings on his quest to redeem himself after a terrible first half. There&#8217;s some extra motivation in it for him as well, as the stronger he pitches, the better chance he has of getting traded to a contender in need of pitching. As things stand now, they may not want to pay a high price for a pitcher that has struggled as much as Cashner has this season. He throws a couple of fastballs that sit at 93 mph, a slider at 85 mph, a curve at 78 mph, and a change at 86 mph. The Blue Jays could do their front office a favour if they are able to pounce on Cashner, maybe driving that price down on him just a bit more to make a trade a bit more palpable.</p>
<h4>Wednesday, July 27th – 12:37 PM ET</h4>
<p>Marco Estrada vs. Luis Perdomo</p>
<p>After missing a couple of weeks with a sore back, Estrada came back with a bang on Friday night against Seattle, allowing just two runs in six innings pitched, taking the loss because the Blue Jays bats couldn&#8217;t get anything going. He has worked his rising fastball magic for almost a season and a half now, and there have been no indications that it won&#8217;t stop inducing weak contact from hitters every time he takes that mound. Against a weak Padres lineup, he should have no problem pitching a gem in this game.</p>
<p>Luis Perdomo is a pitcher, in the sense that he pitches balls to home plate. However, nobody would describe him as a very good one, because, well, he has been pretty awful at his job this season. In 76 2/3 innings mixed between the bullpen and rotation, Perdomo has an ERA of 6.93. And it&#8217;s not like he is supposed to be pitching well. His DRA is 4.61. Not a lot to like on this one, if you&#8217;re a Padres fan. He features a four pitch mix, with four and two seam fastballs sitting in the mid 90&#8217;s, a change in the high 80&#8217;s, and a slider at 84 mph. Baseball is a weird sport, so expect him to shut the Blue Jays down in this game.</p>
<h3>Additions and Subtractions</h3>
<p>The Padres have had a relatively uneventful July, though that could change in a hurry with the trade deadline swiftly approaching. Last week saw the return of former Blue Jay farmhand Brett Wallace who was activated from the paternity list. Utility player Alexi Amarista was sent down to AAA&#8217;s El Paso Chihuahuas in a corresponding move. The team could soon see the returns of right hander Tyson Ross and outfielder Jon Jay from the disabled list, though the Blue Jays won&#8217;t have to concern themselves with either.</p>
<p>The bulk of Toronto&#8217;s recent transactions deal with the bullpen, as the Blue Jays optioned Aaron Loup to AAA Buffalo to make room for Franklin Morales on Friday and somewhat <a title="Surprise! Blue Jays Designate Drew Storen for Assignment, Recall Ryan Tepera" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/24/surprise-blue-jays-designate-drew-storen-for-assignment-recall-ryan-tepera/" target="_blank">surprisingly DFA&#8217;d Drew Storen</a> yesterday morning. While Ryan Tepera was called up in Storen&#8217;s place, it&#8217;s possible that he or fellow reliever Bo Schultz may not be long for the roster with Jose Bautista ready to return. The Jays might also decide to waive Junior Lake to make room for Bautista, but the return of Joey Bats will be a most welcome sight either way. The team is also hopeful that Russell Martin is ready to come back from his shower-induced injury and relieve Josh Thole of starting duties.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in the organization, Ryan Goins is on a rehab assignment in AAA Buffalo. Chris Colabello, recently activated from the restricted list following the end of his 80 game PED suspension, is also playing for the Bison at the moment.</p>
<h3>Keep an Eye On</h3>
<p><strong>Eyes on the Deadline<br />
</strong></p>
<p>This series gives Toronto&#8217;s brain trust a good luck at two of their alleged prime trade targets. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports has reported that the Blue Jays and Orioles are frontrunners in the Melvin Upton sweepstakes. The former Bossman Junior has had a resurgent year, slashing .256 / .304 / .439 with 16 home runs, 45 RBI and 20 steals. His acquisition would crowd the outfield spots and push Jose Bautista and Michael Saunders into more DH at bats going forward as well as give the Blue Jays some cost certainty headed into next season. Toronto has also been rumored to be after the aforementioned Andrew Cashner to add to the team&#8217;s current wealth of pitching.</p>
<p>Whether or not the Padres trade either to the Blue Jays, there will almost certainly be moves from GM AJ Preller. Recent speculation also has the team trying to trade catcher Derek Norris in addition to Upton, Cashner and presumably a handful of other names that haven&#8217;t leaked yet. With the trade deadline just days away it&#8217;s entirely possible that there will be a new iteration of the San Diego Padres heading to Pearson airport on Wednesday night.</p>
<p><strong>Padre Pitching<br />
</strong></p>
<p>The Padres place in the bottom third of the MLB in terms of both starter ERA (4.63, 20th) and bullpen ERA (4.48, 25th), good enough for a collective 4.56 ERA that puts them 25th overall. That&#8217;s with half of the games coming in the spacious* Petco Park. While the Blue Jays were baffled by two Seattle pitchers with uninspiring statistics they should be able to tee off every now and then against various Padre hurlers. After their three games against the Mariners produced just eight runs, the potential is there for the offense to get back on track after what was hopefully a brief slump.</p>
<p>*Giancarlo Stanton notwithstanding</p>
<p><strong>Feels Like the First Time<br />
</strong></p>
<p>There have been 211,233 games in the 141 year history of Major League Baseball. For the first time ever, the San Diego Padres will play in Toronto. The last time the teams faced off at all was back in June of 2013 when San Diego took two of three in Southern California. While the Padres don&#8217;t bring a ton of star power into the series, playing an infrequent opponent can make for a nice change of pace for players and fans alike.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays will look to continue their dominance against the Padres and improve their 5-4 all time record.</p>
<h3>Probable Lineup</h3>
<table style="background-color: #ffffff;border-collapse: collapse;border: 1px solid #000000;color: #000000;width: 100%" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center">
<h3>Padres</h3>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center">
<h3>Blue Jays</h3>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center">1 Travis Jankowski &#8211; CF</td>
<td style="text-align: center">1 Jose Bautista &#8211; RF</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center">2 Wil Myers &#8211; 1B</td>
<td style="text-align: center">2 Josh Donaldson &#8211; 3B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center">3 Matt Kemp &#8211; RF</td>
<td style="text-align: center">3 Edwin Encarnacion &#8211; DH</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center">4 Yangervis Solarte &#8211; 2B</td>
<td style="text-align: center">4 Michael Saunders &#8211; LF</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center">5 Melvin Upton &#8211; LF</td>
<td style="text-align: center">5 Russell Martin &#8211; C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center">6 Ryan Schimpf &#8211; 3B</td>
<td style="text-align: center">6 Troy Tulowitzki &#8211; SS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center">7 Brett Wallace &#8211; DH</td>
<td style="text-align: center">7 Justin Smoak &#8211; 1B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center">8 Derek Norris &#8211; C</td>
<td style="text-align: center">8 Kevin Pillar &#8211; CF</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center">9 Alexei Raimrez &#8211; SS</td>
<td style="text-align: center">9 Devon Travis &#8211; 2B</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><em>via <a href="http://www.rosterresource.com" target="_blank">Roster Resource</a></em></p>
<h3>Final Thoughts</h3>
<p>The Padres make their first trip north of the border and look like an opponent the Blue Jays should handle. At 42-56 and preparing to sell off players for future assets, the Padres appear to be a far weaker team. With their two best pitchers and a possibly resurgent Marcus Stroman taking the mound, they&#8217;re set up well to take at least two of three and possibly make up some ground in the division race in advance of their mid-week date with the Orioles.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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