The Blue Jays will need it to if they hope to make a second straight post-season appearance.
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On the field, the Jays have been playing bad baseball.
The Blue Jays were without reigning AL MVP Josh Donaldson for the second straight game. Toronto and Baltimore are two games behind Boston in the East.
But that’s what they thought Monday.
Ryan Goins will start at third base Wednesday, while outfielder Michael Saunders will hit in Donaldson’s usual No. 2 slot in the batting order.
Adding: “Sometimes you have to step back in order to take that next step”.
“We just couldn’t get that big blow”, Jays manager John Gibbons said. The Blue Jays are tied with the Orioles for the AL wild-card spots and two games behind Boston in the East. “But for my hip it’s something that’s been a little bit gradual”, Donaldson said. “I know how hard he worked to get back to this point”. The 28-year-old, who has issued only one free pass in 11 innings thus far, allowed two runs and fanned seven over five frames against Toronto on September 2. “Wash it and get to the next one, but at the end of it, we have to start winning games here and the whole morale of the team is confident, we just have to go out there and do it”.
There’s a chance Donaldson could miss even more time down the stretch.
“We have a lot of players in this locker room that are very good and we believe in each other and we believe that we’re going to right the ship”, said Donaldson. “However, this guy is the reigning MVP”. “I felt really good”.
Donaldson couldn’t say much about how or when his hip started hurting in the first place but described it as a “gradual thing” that suddenly intensified. Moncada, who did not start, hit.294 with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs in 106 games between Single-A-Advanced Salem and Double-A Portland.
‘You can’t prepare to lose a player of that calibre and level. Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo (41) and Minnesota’s Brian Dozier (40) are the only two players to have hit at least 40 homers. We do have depth in those areas and have options.
Donaldson noted the injury has been giving him problems moving laterally, which, obviously, isn’t going to be helped by the torque of a swing or the quick shuffling needed to man third base.
Donaldson declined to describe the pain he’s experiencing, but he can’t move side-to-side and certainly can’t pivot. “Going straight for the most part has kind of been okay”.
Estrada was in control early on – striking out Logan Forsythe with a fastball to open the game before likewise fooling Kevin Kiermaier, who was way out in front of a changeup. For now, the Blue Jays await the results of an MRI taken during Wednesday’s game.
Toronto, 3-8 in September so far, has slipped into a tie with Baltimore for the first AL wild card spot, two games ahead of Detroit and NY.
The first series at Rogers Centre will be a two-game interleague clash against the Milwaukee Brewers, starting with the home opener on Tues., April 11.
The Toronto Blue Jays look like a exhausted, hurting team these days.
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The Jays’ schedule features six National League opponents: The Brewers (home and away), the St. Louis Cardinals (away), the Atlanta Braves (home), the Cincinnati Reds (home), the Pittsburgh Pirates (home), and the Chicago Cubs (away). Think about that: the Jays had three official at-bats with runners on second and/or third in two games. Daniel Wright (0-2, 7.50 ERA) will start for the Angels.
