The Blue Jays looked to build momentum following a series win over the Yankees to start the season.

Unfortunately, injuries have continued to run rampant throughout the roster. Prized free-agent signing George Springer appeared to be nearing a return to the lineup. He suffered a quad strain while running the bases mid-week and will be out until at least April 15th.

The bad news continued on Friday. It was announced that Teoscar Hernández, Ryan Borucki, and Tyler Chatwood had been added to the IL. Hernández had a COVID-19 positive close contact outside of the team. Borucki was added after experiencing side effects from his COVID-19 vaccination. Chatwood was placed on the 10-day IL with right triceps inflammation.

It got worse when that night’s game started. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. left in the second inning after he also had an adverse reaction to his vaccine shot.

Bright Spots

Joel Payamps, Josh Palacios, and Ty Tice were added to the roster before Friday night’s game. Although the results on the field weren’t going the Jays’ way, all three have made an early case to stay.

Payamps and Tice combined to retire 14 of the 18 batters they faced on Friday. Palacios went 0 for 3 in his debut but broke out the next night. He went 4 for 4 with a walk and four runs scored. He also recorded the first RBI of his career.

Payamps was optioned to the taxi squad despite a good outing in his team debut. He can pitch multiple innings and showed good command.

I was somewhat surprised that the Jays’ selected Tice to be called up. He didn’t have a great spring and doesn’t have the best stuff among their prospects. He looked good in two innings of mop-up work, allowing just one hit and a walk.

After Gurriel Jr. was added to the IL on Saturday, Santiago Espinal joined the big league club. He went 3 for 5 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. I thought he should have made the team out of Spring Training and she showed why.

Bo Doubt

For years now Bo Bichette has been seemingly destined for greatness. He got off to an amazing start when he was first called up to the bigs in 2019. He even hit two home runs off Clayton Kershaw.

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Lately, Bichette has been shaky in the field. He made a crucial error in the second inning that led to four unearned runs. He was also unable to make what would’ve been a key double play in Tuesday night’s 7-4 loss to Texas.

Bo came back in a big way in Saturday’s 15-1 drubbing of the Angels. The son of Dante went 2 for 4 with 5 RBI and 3 runs scored.

Bichette is a confident player and that’s a big part of his success. He’ll needs to continue to work on his defence to unlock his full potential.

Player Of The Week

Could’ve gone a number of directions here. Randal Grichuk has been red-hot. Vladdy has been getting on base at a remarkable percentage while also mashing. Marcus Semien hit a pair of homers and Bichette, despite his troubles described above, had his moments.

But Steven Matz deserves the recognition here. He started and won the only two games the Jays won this week. Sure, he got plenty of run support but he’s also looked really sharp. To all the Mets fans who were so happy to get rid of him. Matz is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA, so thank you.

Pitching Notes

  • Rafael Dolis hasn’t looked comfortable early on this season. He also appears to be shaking off a lot, especially when Alejandro Kirk is catching.
  • Tanner Roark got shelled (3 IP, 3 HR, 5 ER) in his first start Tuesday night. His days as a starter could be over.
  • Tommy Milone got into his first games of the campaign and quietly pitched well. 
  • Hyun-Jin Ryu gave up 7 hits but only 2 runs in his only start of the week on Wednesday. He also recorded 7 strikeouts without walking a batter. He’s deserved a better fate (0-1, 2.92 ERA)
  • We only got to see the electrifying Julian Merryweather once this week. He pitched two good innings in Thursday night’s home opener. 
  • Ross Stripling was ok in his second start, (5 IP, 6H, 4ER, 5K) but hasn’t really settled in yet.
  • Nate Pearson has resumed throwing off of a mound. His return is still likely at least a month or so away.

Wrap

The rain delay-turned postponement isn’t the worst thing. It’ll give everyone a day to rest up.

The vaccination-related absences of Gurriel Jr. and Borucki aren’t expected to be lengthy. No one is going to feel sorry for them. They’ll have to play better as a team to keep the ship afloat before the reinforcements arrive.


Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it! Check out more of my articles 
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About Author

Graeme Wallace

My name is Graeme Wallace and I love sports I grew up with the Blue Jays World Series Championship teams in '92 and '93. There were some lean years in between but some good ones too, all leading up to Jose Bautista's epic bat flip in 2015. I'm so excited to be a part of Belly Up Sports!

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