Yanks Go Yard Radio Show: Blue Jays-Yankees (9/5-9/7)

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

At the beginning of last night’s Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, I talked about how the New York Yankees (70-65) kept their playoff hopes alive yesterday with a win over the Baltimore Orioles. But, New York lost two out of three games to Baltimore and they are now 3.5 games behind the O’s and the Detroit Tigers for the second wild card spot.

During the Orioles series, the Yankees suffered a huge blow to their starting rotation. Chad Green left his start Friday night during the second inning and was diagnosed with a sprained UCL and a strained right tendon, which ends his 2016 season. The question now is who will take Green’s spot in the rotation for the remainder of the season?

Today, the Yankees begin a ten game homestand as they start a three game series against the Toronto Blue Jays (77-59). Back on August 15-17, the Blue Jays took two of three from New York at Yankee Stadium and they are 9-3 against the Yankees this season. Right now, the Blue Jays hold a one game lead over the Red Sox in the AL East.

On offense, the reigning AL MVP, Josh Donaldson, is getting hot at the right time. Since the All-Star Break, Donaldson is hitting .278 with 11 home runs and 29 RBI’s. Over that stretch, Donaldson is second on the team in home runs behind designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion (13).

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During the month of August, John Gibbons’ club had the second lowest team ERA in the American League (3.63). Aaron Sanchez is back in the rotation and J.A. Happ (17 wins) continues to lead the team in that category. In the bullpen, closer Roberto Osuna has blown only one save since June 8.

To talk more about the Blue Jays, my guest on last night’s Yanks Go Yard Radio Show was Ari Shapiro of Jays Journal. Ari gave his take on Jose Bautista being back in the lineup and Francisco Liriano struggling in the bullpen. Here are the other topics we discussed:

• Where does Donaldson stand in the AL MVP conversation?
• 40-man roster callups to watch on the Blue Jays
• Pitching Matchup Breakdown
• R.A. Dickey (Today’s Blue Jays starter) pitching for a spot on the Toronto postseason roster
• Masahiro Tanaka (Today’s Yankees starter) has yet to lose a day game this season (5-0 in nine starts)
• Did Sanchez (Tomorrow’s Blue Jays starter) show any rust in his last start?
• Luis Cessa (Tomorrow’s Yankees starter) with three straight quality starts
• Any concerns about Marcus Stroman’s (Wednesday’s Blue Jays starter) going forward?
• Yankees hitters to watch: Chase Headley and Aaron Judge
• Blue Jays hitters to watch: Russell Martin and Devon Travis
• Are the Blue Jays still the favorite to win the AL East?

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