After they finished in fourth or fifth place in each of the past three years, the Toronto Blue Jays suddenly find themselves flying high above the American League East. Entering play on May 24, the Blue Jays lead the division by 1.5 games over the Baltimore Orioles after winning four straight and nine out of eleven from May 12-23. They are 15-7 in May (best May record in the Majors).
How are they doing it? With a team batting average of only .256, something else must happen. Power at the plate is the biggest reason for their success. Overall, the Blue Jays are third in the American league in runs scored (283, 4.85 per game) and first in home runs (68.) In May, they lead in runs scored (116, 5.27) and home runs (36). Edwin Encarnacion (.258, 13 HR, 39 RBI) and Jose Bautista (.297, 12 HR, 32 RBI) are their usual dominant selves. However, the Blue Jays are getting run production from all throughout their lineup. Brett Lawrie (25 RBI) and Melky Cabrera (23 RBI) are driving in runs, and three other players have nearly twenty. Basically, when the Blue Jays get scoring opportunities, they cash in.
In addition, the pitching staff has turned itself around in May. Whereas they have a season ERA of 4.26 (11th best in A.L.), they have made drastic improvements in May. On the May 23 edition of Quick Pitch, MLB Network’s Heidi Watney discussed their May success. The graphic on the screen showed that the Blue Jays’ starting pitchers had an April ERA of 4.41 whereas in May they lowered it to 3.12 — 1.29 lower — as of May 24. The entire staff’s May ERA is 3.80, and the bullpen has saved a league-leading nine games, giving them 15 for the season, good for second in the league. Mark Buehrle is second in the A.L. with a 2.16 ERA for the season; he is 8-1.
So far, no team in the American League East has made a claim toward the division title. However, if the Blue Jays continue to play even nearly as well as they have in May, then they will likely make a run toward that claim. The season still has four more months, and any team can get hot or cold at any time. The Blue Jays are flying high right now, and they and their fans hope that their wings will not tire any time soon.
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