Blue Jays: Aaron Sanchez Blister Sums Up Poor Weekend
By Paul Taylor
The Blue Jays lose two of our three against the Red Sox and their recent blip is fast turning into a slump from which they may not recover.
The Toronto Blue Jays entered their weekend series against the Boston Red Sox, with the chance to get their challenge back on track. Now, you have to wonder if their recent blip has turned into something more serious.
The Blue Jays lost two of three, and now find themselves a couple of games back of the Red Sox. More importantly, they have gone 3-8 in their last 11 games and must contend with six other teams who also have realistic goals of claiming one of the two wild card spots.
Perhaps best epitomizing what was a frustrating weekend, was the performance of Aaron Sanchez on Sunday. Matching his career-high of six earned runs, he only lasted 3.2 innings, his shortest start since way back on April 11th.
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Following the 11-8 loss, it turned out that Sanchez was struggling with a blister. Speaking to the Toronto Star‘s Richard Griffin and the rest of the media, he said: “I’m not here to make excuses – at the end of the day, you’ve got a job to do.
“For me it was to give my team a chance to win the game. I just have to go a little deeper than 3 2/3 (innings). We’ll see how it goes.”
The 24-year old refuses to be concerned about the blister, even though it’s been around since spring training: “I’ve had these (blisters) come and go throughout the year.
“I feel like I’ve got a good grip on it, but it was just one of those days. It is what it is, I’m not worried.”
While Sanchez may not be concerned, John Gibbons’ decision to shuffle his rotation to include him as one of his three starters against the Red Sox backfired. Now, due to the blister, the Blue Jays manager will do some more shuffling around, to give the youngster extra time to recover.
Speaking to Griffin and the media, Gibbons said: “The next time he pitches will be (at the end of) that (West Coast) road trip, so he’s going to get a few days’ break. Time has got to let that heal.
“I don’t think it’s a big deal. I think (the hotspot) is the start of something, but it will get a little time to heal there.”
While the blister may not be a big deal, the Blue Jays’ recent slump is. They may publicly claim everything is okay — and Sanchez was extremely convincing when saying “we’re fine” — but it’s not.
The team even alluded to as much, by holding a players-only meeting on Saturday morning. There’s no denying the Jays have the talent to turn things around – the question is, will they also show the required mental fortitude?
Next: Why are the Blue Jays struggling?
Where are you at right now with the Blue Jays’ postseason hopes? Are you still in a confident mood, or concerned that the recent run of form is the beginning of the end? Let us know in the comments section below.