Yanks Go Yard Radio Show: Blue Jays-Yankees (8/15-8/17)

On last night’s episode of the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, we looked ahead to the upcoming Blue Jays-Yankees series

At the beginning of last night’s Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, I talked about the whole weekend for the New York Yankees (60-57) as they took two out of three games from the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite the struggles of Luis Severino on Sunday, there were some good moments this weekend.

On Friday, the team was able to give Alex Rodriguez a good sendoff despite some bad weather during the pregame ceremony. A-Rod went 1-for-4 with a double and got to play third base in pinstripes during the ninth inning.

Then, on Saturday, on a day where the Yankees honored the 1996 World Series Champions, a pair of rookies (Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge) hit back-to-back home runs in their first at-bat. On Sunday, the Yankees honored closer Mariano Rivera with a plaque in Monument Park.

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Tonight, the Yankees begin a three game series at home against the Toronto Blue Jays (67-51). Right now, the Blue Jays are in first place in the AL East and the Yankees are in fourth, 6.5 games behind Toronto (4.5 behind Boston for the second Wild Card heading into today).

Since the All-Star Break, the Blue Jays are 16-11 and are eighth in the American League in runs scored (120) and tied for seventh in home runs (38). Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion (.271, 33 home runs, 97 RBI’s) has ten home runs and 17 RBI’s since the break. Of course, they still have the reigning AL MVP in Josh Donaldson (.292, 28 home runs, 79 RBI’s).

Another player to watch on offense is shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who is healthy and contributing for the offense at the right time (.277, five home runs, 18 RBI’s in his last 23 games). But, Toronto is currently without right fielder Jose Bautista, who is on the DL with a knee injury.

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On the mound, the Blue Jays have a 3.65 team ERA, which is the third lowest of any team in the AL. Their rotation has two Cy Young contenders in J.A. Happ (16-3, 2.96 ERA) and Aaron Sanchez (12-2, 2.84). Plus, in the bullpen, closer Roberto Osuna (26 saves) is having another dominant season.

To talk more about the Blue Jays, my guest on the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show last night was Ari Shapiro from Jays Journal. Ari gave his take on the trades the Blue Jays made for starter Francisco Liriano and outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. and the dominance of Osuna. Here are some of the other topics we discussed:

• Impact of Bautista being on the DL
• How long will Sanchez stay in the rotation?
• Pitching Matchup Breakdown
• A. Dickey (Tonight’s Blue Jays starter) has a 7.62 ERA since the break
• What to expect from Chad Green (Tonight’s Yankees starter)
• Why Marco Estrada (Tomorrow’s Blue Jays starter) continues to fly under the radar
• Looking back at Michael Pineda’s (Tomorrow’s Yankees starter) last start against the Red Sox
• Happ (Wednesday’s Blue Jays starter) has received a lot of run support
• CC Sabathia (Wednesday’s Yankees starter) is 1-6 in day games this season
• Yankees hitters to watch: Gary Sanchez and Starlin Castro
• Blue Jays hitters to watch: Devon Travis and Tulowitzki
• The success of Joaquin Benoit and Jason Grilli in the bullpen

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