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The Toronto Blue Jays must be feeling some mixed emotions after going 3-4 over the previous seven games. The Jays took two of four against the Oakland Athletic’s before only getting one win in three against the Houston Astros.
Both series were on the road, so the Jays being one game below .500 might not be the worst-case scenario. The team saw some outstanding individual performances this week, and some they are likely very concerned about moving forward. So, let’s discuss some of the important topics from the past week.
Pearson has a Tough First Outing
The Blue Jays young star pitcher Nate Pearson got his first start of the season Sunday afternoon after starting the season off with an injury. After only pitching in 18 innings in 2020, this is to be Pearson’s first full season in the MLB.
Sadly, his first start of 2021 was a rough one. Pearson didn’t even get out of the third inning after giving up three earned runs. He had five walks and no strikeouts and threw 64 pitches.
He didn’t have any command of his pitches and looked overwhelmed on the mound. He fell behind in the count too many times, and a team like the Astros can make you pay for hitters counts. He is still 24 years old and has lots of room to grow, but there will be many eyes on Pearson in his next start to see if he bounces back.
George Springer
Just when we thought we had Springe back in the lineup, he’s back on the shelf with another injury. It should have raised more eyebrows when he returned to the lineup playing DH and not in the outfield; he clearly wasn’t at 100%.
The best thing the organization and Springer can do is wait, however long that is until he is 100% ready to play. The Blue Jays aren’t paying all this money for 99% George Springer; they are paying for 100%. There is still so much baseball to be played this season, and we want Springer back next time to stay in the lineup.
Injuries, Injuries and More Injuries
We just talked about Springer, but you can also throw Alejandro Kirk into the mix of position players the Jays would love to have available to them right now, but sadly due to injury, they are not.
Now, the pitching is a whole other issue in itself.
Yates, Hatch, Milone, Merryweather, Phelps, and most recently Dolis are all pitchers the Jays could really use right now and are currently out with an injury. It seems like the Jays bullpen is cursed as players are getting injured in what feels like every game.
Biggio Homers in Houston
Cavin Biggio, the son of Astros legend Craig Biggio, homered at Minute Maid Park for the first time in his career, and his parents were there to see it.
They mentioned it on the broadcast, but Craig Biggio still works for the Astros if you haven't heard yet. So, watching his son get a home run against the Astros must have been a little awkward. Even though he didn't jump up and scream as most parents would, he still cracked a little smile.
Looking Ahead
The Blue Jays have an off day tomorrow as they fly to Atlanta to face off against the Braves in a three-game set starting Tuesday. They then play host to the Philadelphia Phillies beginning Friday for three games to wrap up the week.