TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays aren’t in a playoff race, but the club is still aiming to attach value to their remaining games by evaluating the young players on the roster who are in some ways auditioning for roles on the 2025 roster and beyond.
So while Toronto’s four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels which concluded with Sunday’s 8-2 win at the Rogers Centre isn’t meaningful in the standings, manager John Schneider was still pleased with how his club performed over the past four games.
“They played really well from (the) starting pitching, to the at-bats, the power, pretty good defence, little things (like) base running, too. Will (Wagner) tagging up from first to go to second. They stayed on it. It’s not easy to sweep anyone at any time of the year, so it’s a good feeling for the young guys, but for everyone, really. It’s nice to go out and play good baseball.”
The Blue Jays will now move on to Boston and Minnesota to take on clubs in the playoff hunt. But, before that, let’s look at four Blue Jays takeaways.
Bowden Francis joins Blue Jays’ near-miss no-no club
For now, Dave Stieb remains the only Blue Jays pitcher to throw a no-hitter, but for eight innings on Saturday, it looked as though Bowden Francis was going to join him.
Francis took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Angels, but with three outs to go, leadoff hitter Taylor Ward hit a solo home run to centre field to foil Francis’s chance at history. Still, Francis’ eight no-hit innings represented the Blue Jays’ longest no-hit bid since Brandon Morrow threw 8 2/3 no-hit innings on Aug. 8, 2010, against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Blue Jays are one of three clubs that have only one no-hitter in franchise history, alongside the Rays (Matt Garza, July 26, 2010) and the Colorado Rockies (Ubaldo Jiménez, April 17, 2010).
But the Blue Jays have had a handful of near-misses, which are compiled here by MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson.
Before Stieb recorded his no-hitter on Sept. 2, 1990, against Cleveland, Stieb had flirted with a no-no three times — including on back-to-back starts in September 1988 when he had no-hitters broken up with two outs in the ninth. Stieb almost threw a perfect game on Aug. 4, 1989, against the New York Yankees, but with two outs in the ninth, he gave up a double to end the chance at history.
Roy Halladay nearly threw a no-hitter in only his second MLB start on Sept. 27, 1998, against the Detroit Tigers. The rookie was one out away in the ninth when Bobby Higginson hit a solo home run to end the bid. The next almost no-no didn’t happen until more than a decade later when Morrow struck out 17 Rays batters but with two outs in the ninth, Evan Longoria singled.
Since spring training, Chris Bassitt has been hyping up his teammate, Francis. So, it’s no surprise the veteran right-hander wanted to celebrate Francis’s eight-inning, one-hit performance.
During Sunday’s broadcast on Sportsnet, Francis was interviewed mid-game from the dugout by broadcasters Dan Shulman and Joe Siddall. During the chat, Bassitt entered the camera shot behind Francis and held up a sign that read: 15 innings, 2 hits, 20 Ks. Hittable + not special.”
For Immediate Release: pic.twitter.com/nv14BCD4pz
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 25, 2024
The stats are a reference to Francis’s past two starts against the Angels, while the message is a cheeky reference to comments Ward made after Saturday’s game. The Angels outfielder was asked what made Francis so tough after he held them hitless until Ward’s ninth-inning solo home run.
“I really don’t know,” he told reporters including MLB.com’s Julia Kreuz. “You know, I thought that everything was hittable. Maybe to other guys, he made better pitches. A lot of guys were talking about his split and that being on. But personally, I didn’t think it was anything special.”
Bassitt disagreed. The Blue Jays’ manager was asked about Bassitt’s message after the game.
“Chris and Kevin (Gausman) especially, have taken Bowden under their wing. And I love (it) when the guys have each other’s back,” Schneider said. “And I think Bowden’s results against Anaheim speak for themselves.”
Rotation receiving a breather
For the second straight year, the Blue Jays’ rotation has been led by veterans Gausman, Bassitt and José Berríos who have each made 26 starts. But without stakes in the standings to play for, the Blue Jays will look to get their starters extra rest when they can for the remainder of the season, according to Schneider.
“If we can keep the starters on an extra day going forward, I think that’s something we would like to do,” the manager said.
This past week, the Blue Jays pushed all the starters back a day when they used reliever Ryan Burr as an opener before Ryan Yarbrough took over as the bulk guy for five scoreless innings in last Thursday’s 5-3 win over the Angels.
The way the schedule is, there will probably be at least one more turn of the rotation that sees the starters pitch on normal rest but otherwise, the club will get their starters extra rest by using the scheduled off days and turning to other pitchers who can handle bulk innings, such as Yarbrough, on certain days.
“You’ll take any break you can get, whatever way,” Gausman said when asked if the extra rest is appreciated at this time of the season. “I think also, we’re trying to see a look at Yarbs and see about next year, that type of thing. I feel like it’s a great opportunity for him, while also giving us a day off.”
In September, when rosters expand to 28, the Blue Jays may also choose to call up right-handed prospect Jake Bloss and employ a six-man rotation for the final month.
Bloss, who was acquired from the Houston Astros in the Yusei Kikuchi deal, has made three starts with the Buffalo Bisons, pitching 9 2/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and five walks. The Blue Jays haven’t been in a rush to call him up but with rosters expanding in September, and the Blue Jays in need of a sixth starter, he seems like he could be heading to Toronto by next week.
Roster expansion
Bloss appears to be a strong candidate to earn a September call-up, but there is another roster spot up for grabs. Schneider said the club has “a pretty good idea” of who they are targeting but added that “it could change in a week.”
Who are the prime candidates?
Jonatan Clase, acquired from the Seattle Mariners at the trade deadline, is an outfielder who brings an element of speed that is lacking on the Blue Jays roster. He’s only hit .211 with a .612 OPS in 19 games with the Bisons, but this is also an opportune time to get him a look alongside many of the other young players when the stakes are low at the MLB level.
Nathan Lukes recently returned from the injured list after a thumb injury and is 12-for-37 since Aug. 10. He was the odd man out in spring training and the Blue Jays could choose to reward him now with a month in the majors.
Meanwhile, Alan Roden has been excelling in Triple A lately. The 24-year-old outfielder is hitting .357 in August with a 1.039 OPS. He’s caught the attention of the organization and Schneider recently said, “The chatter has been really good,” on him. But, unlike the other two players named above, Roden isn’t on the 40-man roster, which is an obstacle.
(Photo of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bowden Francis: Cole Burston / Getty Images)
