TORONTO – A couple years ago around this time, someone asked Charlie Montoyo who the Blue Jays’ upcoming starting pitchers were and his response revealed a lot about the state of starting pitching in the organization at that time.
“We honestly don’t know,” he said back in September of 2019. “An opener and a guy.”
As we’re seeing now, the Blue Jays are now in a position where they actually have more viable big-league starters than rotation spots, all of which added a layer of intrigue to the Blue Jays’ double-header against the Angels Wednesday. With Steven Matz and Ross Stripling both slated to make final bids to remain in the rotation, a competition of sorts was set to play out at Angel Stadium.
Matz struggled in the opener, allowing four runs on six hits over 4.2 innings and the Blue Jays lost 6-3 in their first game back on the road after a successful first homestand of the year in Toronto. Two of the runs charged to Matz were unearned, but he still wasn’t sharp on a day he walked three.
Offensively, Marcus Semien continued his productive season with a three-hit day including two doubles while Teoscar Hernandez contributed two hits of his own and Corey Dickerson added an RBI triple. Even so, it wasn’t quite enough as the Blue Jays fell to 60-51 on the season.
Despite Matz’s uneven outing, he may still be the leader to remain in the rotation once the Blue Jays return to five starters in anticipation of two off days next week and additional rest for starters Hyun-Jin Ryu, Jose Berrios, Robbie Ray and Alek Manoah. Before the double-header, Montoyo said Stripling’s familiarity with relief pitching will factor into the club’s thinking.
“It’s going to be a tough decision which means both are pitching good which is great,” Montoyo said. “But we’ll see. The one thing about Ross is he’s done it before and he’s comfortable there, so that could help in the move, but we’ll see.”
For instance, entering games with runners on base or warming up in short order would likely be more familiar to Stripling, who has 88 career appearances compared to Matz’s five. Of course performance must enter the equation along with comfort, which makes Stripling’s Game 2 bid for extended run as a starter all the more intriguing.
If the Blue Jays get to the playoffs, where traditional roles give way to the need for outs, then the starter-reliever distinction will quickly start to disappear. In the meantime, there are still seven weeks to play with further ground to make up in the standings.
But think back to 2019, when the Blue Jays used Wilmer Font, Derek Law, Daniel Hudson, David Phelps, Neil Ramirez, Ryan Tepera and Buddy Boshers as openers because they lacked big-league quality starting pitchers. By comparison, the competition playing out now is far preferable – and a reflection of how far the Blue Jays have come in a short period of time.
“It’s huge,” Montoyo said. “We have a chance to win every day. The one thing about an opener is really that means your starter’s not great. He’s good enough, but … you know what I’m saying. You have to make an adjustment. It’s a smart thing that baseball did, but if you have five or six starters you don’t need an opener and that’s what we’ve got going right now.”
