Toronto Blue Jays Notes: Pillar Nominated for Clemente Award, Rotation and Francisco Liriano Update

The Toronto Blue Jays endured a tough loss on Tuesday, but Kevin Pillar was nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award and the team received an update on Francisco Liriano.

Despite rallying to score two runs in the ninth inning, the Toronto Blue Jays lost a tough one to the New York Yankees on Tuesday, losing 7-6 in the Bronx.

The game itself had everything you could possibly want as a baseball fan: high drama, long home runs, comebacks, epic battles at the plate, controversy, and a nail biting finish. Although it was an entertaining game, it does not overshadow the team’s recent offensive struggles.

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Up until the eighth inning, the Blue Jays only managed to score two runs against the Yankees, which basically forced starter Aaron Sanchez to be perfect. I won’t harp on the offensive struggles, but let’s hope this is just a rut and not a long-term trend.

Pillar Nominated for Roberto Clemente Award

Outfielder Kevin Pillar has been named the Blue Jays’ nominee for the annual Roberto Clemente Award. The award recognizes a player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement and positive contributions on and off the field.

Working with the Blue Jays and the Jays Care Foundation, Pillar has become a staple of the team’s community leadership group, and he is a regular participant in the Jays’ Winter Tour across Canada. He is also active with educational and health and wellness programs throughout the Toronto area.

Rotation Set for Showdown with Red Sox

With a critical upcoming series against the Boston Red Sox this weekend, the Blue Jays will go with their big three of Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ and Sanchez.

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This means R.A. Dickey will have his next start pushed back, which I don’t think will bother anyone since Sanchez is taking his spot on Sunday.

Liriano Improving

According to Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com, left-hander Francisco Liriano was feeling better on Tuesday and the team has not eliminated him from the starting rotation just yet.

“He feels better today, which is good,” manager John Gibbons said. “He looked great yesterday. [The injury] kind of caught us off-guard, we weren’t aware of it, but hopefully that’s behind him.

“We haven’t eliminated him from the rotation, it was just kind of the way things were stacking up, who we were going to pitch. Figured keep him active in the ‘pen, and the thought is maybe he can be tough on those lefties. But he can be tough on the righties, too, when everything is working.”

Next: Jays Notes: Offence Struggles, Liriano Exits Early

Quick Hitters:

The Blue Jays recalled relievers

Aaron Loup

and

Bo Schultz

prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Yankees.

Just how crazy was Tuesday night’s game? According to

Fangraphs

, it was a back and forth tilt that had no clear winner until the final inning.