Based on the schedule, the Toronto Blue Jays need to make a serious playoff push over the next few weeks.
The inconsistent Blue Jays begin a stretch of five series in a row against teams with losing records this weekend, when they entertain the Cleveland Guardians at Rogers Centre.
The sense or urgency became clear listening to manager John Schneider’s session with the media after Thursday’s loss in Baltimore.
After this stretch, it’s the American League West-leading Texas Rangers followed by five series against AL East foes — and we all know intradivision play has been a challenge for Toronto this season — to finish the season.
Of course, the Blue Jays, whose hitting concerns are well documented, aren’t guaranteed to win just because they have the edge on paper — see the season series section below.
Here is a look at this Blue Jays-Guardians series.
Probable Pitchers
Friday, 7:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. PT: Toronto RHP Chris Bassitt (12-6, 3.92 ERA) vs. Cleveland RHP Tanner Bibee (9-3, 3.01 ERA)
Saturday, 3:07 p.m. ET / 12:07 p.m. PT: Toronto LHP Hyun Jin Ryu (2-1, 1.89 ERA) vs. Cleveland LHP Logan Allen (6-6, 3.31 ERA)
Sunday, 1:37 p.m. ET / 10:37 a.m. PT: Toronto LHP Yusei Kikuchi (9-4, 3.52 ERA) vs. Cleveland RHP Noah Syndergaard (2-6, 6.42 ERA)
All games on Sportsnet and SN NOW.
Latest on the Blue Jays
The Blue Jays (70-58) completed their season series against the AL-leading Baltimore Orioles with a bad record of 3-10 after losing their final two games of a series at Camden Yards.
Pretty much needing a sweep to have a shot at making a late run at the AL East, the Blue Jays are now a whopping 9.5 games behind the Orioles.
Thursday night’s finale, which started 70 minutes late because of rain, saw the Orioles score two in the fourth to tie it at 2-2 before cashing in three more runs on Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios in the next inning to take a lead they would not relinquish. Baltimore ended up winning, 5-3.
Brandon Belt is holding the hot bat for Toronto, homering twice in the series after putting two over the fence in the previous series finale against Cincinnati.
The Blue Jays are now 1.5 games behind the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners, who are tied for second in the wild-card race.
Latest on the Guardians
The Guardians (60-68) had a long, unsuccessful day at home on Thursday, losing 6-1 in the completion of a suspended game (the first two innings were played Wednesday) against the Los Angeles Dodgers before falling 9-3 to the same team in the regularly scheduled game.
The Thursday sweep gave the Dodgers a 2-1 series win over a Guardians team that was a seller at the trade deadline despite being in a close race at the time with the Minnesota Twins in the weak AL Central.
The roster subtractions, not surprisingly, haven’t helped. The Guardians are 7-14 in August and have fallen six games behind Minnesota.
Injuries, especially to their starting rotation, have not made things easy for the Guardians, who have ran out four rookies to start for much of the year.
One of those newcomers, Bibee, is in the running for the AL rookie of the year award, though he likely won’t top Orioles slugger Gunnar Henderson.
The young arms have held up relatively well. Offence has been the bigger problem for the Guardians, who are 27th in the 30-team MLB in OPS.
Vlad’s Troubling Power Numbers
Blue Jays star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is hitting over .300 the past 15 games, which is good.
What’s not so good is his lack of power.
The Home Run Derby champ has just one homer in August — and that came way back on Aug. 6 — to go with seven RBIs.
With just 18 home runs this year, Guerrero Jr. needs 14 to match last year’s total. He is well back of his career-high 48 in 2021.
Pitching Powerhouses
Despite all the injuries, the Guardians (60-68) have the fourth-best team ERA in baseball at 3.80. The Blue Jays lead the way at 3.68.
Canadian Corner
Guardians catcher Bo Naylor, a native of Mississauga, Ont., has had two multi-hit games in his past three outings.
His older brother Josh, Cleveland’s first baseman, has been sidelined with an oblique sprain.
Fellow Canadian Cal Quantrill, a right-hander from Port Hope, Ont., has been out with right shoulder inflammation. He’s scheduled to make a rehab start at triple-A Columbus on Saturday.
Last Call for Francona?
Long-time Guardians manager Terry Francona hinted at retirement after the season this week, meaning this could be his final series in Toronto.
Francona, 64, has scheduled shoulder replacement surgery and plans on having a pair of hernia operations at the end of this season.
Francona, who started his playing career with the Montreal Expos, began managing the Guardians in 2013. Previously, he was the manager for the Boston Red Sox for eight years, winning two World Series.
Season Series
The Blue Jays managed to score all of seven runs in four games in Cleveland early this month, yet still managed to split the series.
Kevin Gausman was a winner in a 1-0 shutout victory, while Kikuchi was a loser in a 1-0 defeat during which Bibee went seven shutout innings.
Syndergaard, a 2010 Blue Jays draft pick, held Toronto to one run in 5.2 innings in a 4-3 win in the series finale.
Out Of Town
The teams directly ahead of the Blue Jays in the wild-card race play teams well out of the playoff picture this weekend.
The Mariners entertain the Kansas City Royals, while the Astros are in Detroit to face the Tigers.
The Red Sox, who are two games behind Toronto, host the NL West-leading Dodgers.
Up Next
The Washington Nationals, tied for last in the NL East, are at Rogers Centre for three games starting Monday.
