Toronto Blue Jays: 3 Factors Which Will Affect Success in May

1) The strength of schedule not in favor for Blue Jays

The month of May could be another tough period for the Blue Jays. The combined overall record of their opponents sits at .514 as of April 30. The first series of May immediately gives the Blue Jays a challenge to get back on the right track.

From May 1-3, they head to Yankee Stadium for the first time this season and take on the current American League East leading New York Yankees. It’s safe to say they have everything working for them so far. Not to mention, a beast in right field who made history in the month of April:

To wrap up their six-game road trip, the Blue Jays return to Tropicana Field to take on the Tampa Bay Rays for the third time in the season.

Then, starting on May 9, the Blue Jays begin a nine-game home stand at Rogers Centre, starting with an anticipated ALCS rematch. The Cleveland Indians begin a three-game series against the Blue Jays and bring back a familiar face to Toronto:

Soon after, the Seattle Mariners come to town for a four-game series, before wrapping up the home stand with a two-game series against the Atlanta Braves, in their first of three interleague match ups in May.

The Blue Jays begin a seven-game road trip with two more games against the Braves in Atlanta, then their second visit to Camden Yards to take on the Orioles. They will then conclude with a two-game series against Eric Thames and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Finally to finish the month of May, the Blue Jays start another home-stand with their rivals from the American League West. They take on the Texas Rangers in a three-game weekend series, which should be another interesting set of games (pending punches).

The Blue Jays finish the home-stand with their third interleague series of the month, against the Cincinnati Reds. Needless to say, should the Blue Jays be unable to come out with a winning record in May, they will be in worse trouble than they are right now.