Toronto will wrap up its four-game series at New York on Sunday afternoon. The Blue Jays picked up two big wins to open the series on Thursday and Friday, but the Yankees still hold a comfortable lead in the American League East. This story was published prior to Saturday’s third game of the series.
Toronto has been dealing with inconsistency since returning from the All-Star break. The Blue Jays opened the second half with eight wins in a 10-game stretch. They proceeded to lose nine of their next 12 games, with four of those losses coming against Baltimore. Toronto bounced back earlier this week, winning three straight games after taking the first two games of this series. The Blue Jays will wrap up their seven-game road trip with three games in Boston next week. They are currently eight games back of New York for second place in the AL East. Toronto has one game of wiggle room for the second AL Wild Card spot.
A wild Chicken Strip appeared ?? pic.twitter.com/nXDLbcUrc8
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 20, 2022
The Blue Jays have been a fantastic offensive team this season, leading the majors with a batting average of .263. First baseman Vlad Guerrero Jr. tops Toronto with 128 hits, including 26 home runs. Shortstop Bo Bichette has 123 hits, while left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has 120 base knocks. They will be facing a New York pitching staff that ranks third in the majors with an ERA of 3.35. Right-handed pitcher Alek Manoah is going to be on the mound for Toronto on Sunday. He allowed four runs on four hits and four walks across 5.2 innings against Baltimore on Tuesday. Manoah has failed to make it through six innings in three of his last four starts—he now has a career-high workload of 142.2 innings. He still has an impressive 2.71 ERA and 1.04 WHIP overall this year.