Based on the schedule, the Toronto Blue Jays need to make a serious playoff push over the next few weeks.
The inconsistent Blue Jays begin a stretch of five series in a row against teams with losing records this weekend, when they entertain the Cleveland Guardians at Rogers Centre.
After this stretch, it’s the American League West-leading Texas Rangers followed by five series against AL East foes — and we all know intradivision play has been a challenge for Toronto this season — to finish the season.
Of course, the Blue Jays, whose hitting concerns are well documented, aren’t guaranteed to win just because they have the edge on paper — see the season series section below.
Here is a look at this Blue Jays-Guardians series.
Probable Pitchers
Friday, 7:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. PT: Toronto RHP Chris Bassitt (12-6, 3.92 ERA) vs. Cleveland RHP Tanner Bibee (9-3, 3.01 ERA)
Saturday, 3:07 p.m. ET / 12:07 p.m. PT: Toronto LHP Hyun Jin Ryu (2-1, 1.89 ERA) vs. Cleveland LHP Logan Allen (6-6, 3.31 ERA)
Sunday, 1:37 p.m. ET / 10:37 a.m. PT: Toronto LHP Yusei Kikuchi (9-4, 3.52 ERA) vs. Cleveland RHP Noah Syndergaard (2-6, 6.42 ERA)
All games on Sportsnet and SN NOW.
Latest on the Blue Jays
The Blue Jays (70-58) completed their season series against the AL-leading Baltimore Orioles with a bad record of 3-10 after losing their final two games of a series at Camden Yards.
MLB Highlights: Orioles 5, Blue Jays 3
Pretty much needing a sweep to have a shot at making a late run at the AL East, the Blue Jays are now a whopping 9.5 games behind the Orioles.
Thursday night’s finale, which started 70 minutes late because of rain, saw the Orioles score two in the fourth to tie it at 2-2 before cashing in three more runs on Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios in the next inning to take a lead they would not relinquish. Baltimore ended up winning, 5-3.
Brandon Belt is holding the hot bat for Toronto, homering twice in the series after putting two over the fence in the previous series finale against Cincinnati.
The Blue Jays are now 1.5 games behind the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners, who are tied for second in the wild-card race.
Latest on the Guardians
The Guardians (60-68) had a long, unsuccessful day at home on Thursday, losing 6-1 in the completion of a suspended game (the first two innings were played Wednesday) against the Los Angeles Dodgers before falling 9-3 to the same team in the regularly scheduled game.
MLB Highlights: Dodgers 9, Guardians 3
The Thursday sweep gave the Dodgers a 2-1 series win over a Guardians team that was a seller at the trade deadline despite being in a close race at the time with the Minnesota Twins in the weak AL Central.
The roster subtractions, not surprisingly, haven’t helped. The Guardians are 7-14 in August and have fallen six games behind Minnesota.
Injuries, especially to their starting rotation, have not made things easy for the Guardians, who have ran out four rookies to start for much of the year.
One of those newcomers, Bibee, is in the running for the AL rookie of the year award, though he likely won’t top Orioles slugger Gunnar Henderson.
The young arms have held up relatively well. Offence has been the bigger problem for the Guardians, who are 27th in the 30-team MLB in OPS.
Vlad’s Troubling Power Numbers
Blue Jays star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is hitting over .300 the past 15 games, which is good.
What’s not so good is his lack of power.
Guerrero Jr.’s power struggle hinders Blue Jays again as they drop series finale to Orioles
The Home Run Derby champ has just one homer in August — and that came way back on Aug. 6 — to go with seven RBIs.
With just 18 home runs this year, Guerrero Jr. needs 14 to match last year’s total. He is well back of his career-high 48 in 2021.
Pitching Powerhouses
Despite all the injuries, the Guardians (60-68) have the fourth-best team ERA in baseball at 3.80. The Blue Jays lead the way at 3.68.
Canadian Corner
Guardians catcher Bo Naylor, a native of Mississauga, Ont., has had two multi-hit games in his past three outings.
His older brother Josh, Cleveland’s first baseman, has been sidelined with an oblique sprain.
Fellow Canadian Cal Quantrill, a right-hander from Port Hope, Ont., has been out with right shoulder inflammation. He’s scheduled to make a rehab start at triple-A Columbus on Saturday.
Last Call for Francona?
Long-time Guardians manager Terry Francona hinted at retirement after the season this week, meaning this could be his final series in Toronto.
Francona, 64, has scheduled shoulder replacement surgery and plans on having a pair of hernia operations at the end of this season.
MLB Highlights: Dodgers 6, Guardians 1
Francona, who started his playing career with the Montreal Expos, began managing the Guardians in 2013. Previously, he was the manager for the Boston Red Sox for eight years, winning two World Series.
Season Series
The Blue Jays managed to score all of seven runs in four games in Cleveland early this month, yet still managed to split the series.
Kevin Gausman was a winner in a 1-0 shutout victory, while Kikuchi was a loser in a 1-0 defeat during which Bibee went seven shutout innings.
Syndergaard, a 2010 Blue Jays draft pick, held Toronto to one run in 5.2 innings in a 4-3 win in the series finale.
Out Of Town
The teams directly ahead of the Blue Jays in the wild-card race play teams well out of the playoff picture this weekend.
The Mariners entertain the Kansas City Royals, while the Astros are in Detroit to face the Tigers.
The Red Sox, who are two games behind Toronto, host the NL West-leading Dodgers.
Up Next
The Washington Nationals, tied for last in the NL East, are at Rogers Centre for three games starting Monday.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
