As the four-game series against the Kansas City Royals got off to a rocky start, the Toronto Blue Jays were able to rally in the final three games to get back above .500 before they head west to take on the Los Angeles Angels Friday.
Over the four-game series, the Blue Jays showed fans that they are one of the best offensive teams in the AL–and John Schneider demonstrated his ability to adapt the lineup accordingly, resulting in the Blue Jays dominating opposing pitching in the final three games. Besides the team finding their offense, here are three other things fans can take away from the Kansas City series.
Keep riding the hot ABs
One thing I respect Schneider for acting on after the team’s 9- 5 loss to the Royals on Monday was immediately adjusting the lineup. Matt Chapman has been on an absolute tear to start the season, batting an AL-leading .481 in his first seven games, but the hitters in front of him in the seventh position were not getting on base.
In the first four games, Chapman had eight hits on 15 at-bats and only drove in two runs. Since Schneider moved him up in the batting order behind the hot-hitting Daulton Varsho and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on Tuesday, the Blue Jays are 3-0, and Chapman has driven in five runs on five hits. It seems to be working out.
As the Jays prepare to face two above .500 teams over the next ten days, it will be important for Schneider to keep adjusting on the fly and riding the hot ABs.
Hit the breaks on Berríos
The talk heading into the first-game series was: Has José Berríos improved against left-handed hitters over the offseason? And the answer we saw in his last start is absolutely not. Berríos had the highest earned run average against lefties in the MLB last year (minimum 100 innings pitched). In his first start of this season, he got lit up, surrendering nine hits and eight runs over five and two-thirds of an inning.
Last year, Berríos went the distance, throwing over 170 innings, but he still finished with the highest ERA to end the season among Blue Jays starters. Seven of the nine hits he gave up on Monday night were against lefties, as he kept leaving fastballs and curve balls up in the zone. If Berríos keeps hanging pitches, good-hitting teams (like his next opponent, the Angels) will make him pay. Berríos will face the Angels and the Detroit Tigers in his next two starts, but Schneider should considerably have him on a short leash.
Better baserunning
The Blue Jays talked about changing several things for the 2023 season this spring, but one thing that has been apparent is how aggressive they’ve been on the bases. The Blue Jays rank sixth in the MLB for on-base percentage (.353) and are tied for seventh in total bases (101).
Several times in the KC series, we saw Bo Bichette, Guerrero Jr., and Varsho shake off stop signs, turning hit into something more. Baserunning is something they did well last year and will need to continue to do with more power in the lineup.
BluebirdTalk.com 