Toronto Blue Jays: Previewing pivotal series against Yankees
By Ryan Patrick
Toronto Blue Jays will face pitching gauntlet
New York will be throwing some of their best starting pitchers at the Blue Jays in this series, with Deivi Garcia scheduled to pitch tonight followed up by Gerrit Cole in game two and Masahiro Tanaka in game three.
Garcia is a 21-year-old rookie who has looked great in his limited big league action so far. He’s considered one of New York’s top prospects. Through 17.2 IP he has a 3.06 ERA with a 0.91 WHIP and 18 strikeouts. He’s 1-1, with his first MLB win coming against these very Blue Jays last Wednesday night. He went seven innings, giving up only two earned runs and striking out six.
Cole is highly regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball. He signed a massive nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees this past off-season after spending his last two seasons with the Houston Astros.
Things haven’t gone exactly according to plan for Cole this season though. The strikeout and walk numbers have still been good and close to his career average. However, he’s been giving up way more home runs than he’s used to, resulting in a 3.20 ERA and a 4.26 FIP. Still respectable, but a far cry from what we’re used to seeing from the ace. Nevertheless, Toronto will be in tough when they face him tomorrow night.
Tanaka has been doing pretty much what you’d expect him to do. The impending free agent Has a 3.16 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 34 strikeouts through 37 IP to go along with a 2-2 record. He has historically owned the Blue Jays, with a career 13-5 record, 2.87 ERA, and 1.01 WHIP.