Welcoming our friends to the north to town
The final series of the first half is upon us. The A’s will wrap up the home stand and the first half with a three-game weekend series against their friendly cross-border rivals to the north when they welcome the Toronto Blue Jays for their first visit to Sacramento. Toronto is one of the hottest teams in the league right now but just saw their 10-game winning streak snapped yesterday. Meanwhile our A’s are riding high after a series win capped by last night’s extra-inning walk-off. Let’s see how the A’s handle a Jays team on the rise.
- Blue Jays W/L record: 54-39 (1st in AL East)
- Run differential: +20
- Team OPS: .735 (10th of 30)
- Team ERA: 4.13 (20th of 30)
The Blue Jays seem to have always had a great offense when they’ve been good, and that’s been the case again this season. Looking to turn things around from a rough season last year when they finished last in their division, the Jays have gotten tremendous production out of their biggest names. George Springer looks like he did back in his days with the Astros, Bo Bichette is enjoying a bounce back year, Vlad Jr. is still a massive power threat, and Alejandro Kirk can make a claim to the best catcher in baseball. Add in the breakout of third baseman/right fielder Addison Barger and the Jays have the core of a dangerous lineup just there alone.
And that’s before considering other productive players in their lineup. Second baseman Ernie Clement (who spent about five minutes with the A’s back in ‘22) has made the most of his playing time, outfielder Nathan Lukes has been a nice find for them, and Dalton Varsho was on a power trip before landing back on the IL (he will miss this series). If the Blue Jays get offseason additions Anthony Santander and Andres Gimenez going, this could be one of the most dangerous lineups in the postseason.
Their pitching doesn’t have to be world-beaters with the way their lineup is hitting behind them. The Jays’ top three of Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt have held their own, though no one would confuse them with aces. Aging veteran Max Scherzer was brought in as a roll of the dice but hasn’t panned out yet. The rest of the starting rotation has been a revolving door, with the Jays using seven other pitchers for starts other than the above-named four. They’ll be on the hunt for starting pitching come trade season, you can count on that.
Tonight’s matchup will feature Athletics right-hander Luis Severino making his 20th start of the year. Severino’s first season with the A’s has been tough to say the least. He’s just 2-10 on the year but has gotten poor run support in several starts. The team’s Opening Day starter has a 5.30 ERA which isn’t encouraging on the surface but he’s had a few meltdowns that have heavily skewed his bottom line stats. He’s underwhelmed in his first year donning Green & Gold, no doubt. And his recent comments criticizing his home ballpark won’t endear him to anyone. All he can do is try to finish the first half strong against an opponent he’s seen plenty of in his career. Today will be his first time facing them this season.
The Jays will counter Sevy with future Hall-of-Famer Max Scherzer. His first season in Toronto has not gone according to plan for either party. Signed to a massive one-year, $15.5 million contract this offseason, the right-hander made just one start before landing on the IL with a thumb injury that ended up costing him most of the first half. The 40-year-old has made three starts since his return and has allowed 7 runs in 14 innings, not exactly overpowering hitters at this stage in his career. A’s hitters know better than to overlook someone with his pedigree however and they’ll have a gameplan against one of the all-time greats.
Taking the ball on Saturday will be rookie left-hander Jacob Lopez for the A’s and veteran right-hander Kevin Gausman for the Blue Jays. Lopez has flashed signs of his talent in his first extended action in the major leagues this year. After a rough start to the season that saw a couple demotions to Triple-A, Lopez was pressed into action due to injuries and ran with his opportunity. Over his past six starts he’s allowed just eight runs spanning 30 2⁄3 frames while also racking up an impressive 38 strikeouts compared to just nine walks. He’ll hope to lower his 4.26 season ERA and perhaps even get it below 4 in his final outing of the half. Toronto absolutely destroyed Lopez earlier in the season, scoring 7 runs in less than 2 innings off the lefty, but that was before Lopez had found his groove. He seems like a different pitcher than he did earlier in the season.
Now with his fifth organization, the 34-year-old Gausman has delivered solid results for the Jays in his fourth season with the squad. He’s predictably fallen off as he’s gotten older as he’s no longer the Cy Young contender he was in his first couple years in Toronto. He’s still been more than serviceable for the first-place Jays, facing down dangerous AL East lineups on a regular basis. He’s bring a 4.13 ERA into his final start of the half against Lopez.
Wrapping up the series and the first half on Sunday afternoon for the A’s will be Jeffrey Springs. A disastrous first month is way in the rearview mirror. Springs has turned his season around and has been a stabilizing force for the staff, throwing like one of the better pitchers in the American League over the past two-ish months. The 32-year-old has a solid 3.92 ERA but is quickly approaching his career-high in innings pitched. The A’s will let him get the final game of the first half anyway, though his last start against Toronto (2 IP, 6 ER) did not go so well. He’ll be looking for revenge.
Toronto will counter Springs with righty Jose Berrios. who is having his typically above-average season. Now in his fifth season with the Blue Jays, the 31-year-old currently leads the Jays’ starting unit with a 3.53 ERA in 19 starts. He shut down the A’s over six scoreless innings earlier this season, allowing just two hits and two walks en route to a win. He’s been up-and-down over his past three starts so maybe the A’s can catch him when he’s on a down swing.