Toronto Blue Jays: Tough outing against Gerrit Cole outlines struggles

Struggling to get anything going against the Gerrit Cole, the Toronto Blue Jays offence will need to figure out how to hit against elite pitching.

The 2020 season has provided the inexperienced Toronto Blue Jays team with a chance to grow from a rebuilding team to a playoff calibre team and right now they face their toughest challenge.

With the playoffs around the corner, Toronto will need to rebound from what has been a tough few weeks. The team’s starting rotation has been hit hard and their overworked bullpen has shown signs of fatigue.

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Waiting until the month of September to play the New York Yankees has done the team no favours in this department considering the Bronx Bombers are getting healthier with each day. It was also a serious flaw in the schedule considering there aren’t many teams that have to wait this long to play a division rival.

Had Toronto played New York in the early part of the season, maybe the team could get some time to sort through the struggles they have gone through. At the same time, the Blue Jays are learning the tough road that lies ahead as they prepare to face some legitimate competition.

Out of all the pitchers the Blue Jays have gone up against, none have been better than Gerrit Cole and Jacob deGrom. It has certainly been a learning lesson going up against these elite arms and it’s a struggle that they will have to sort through.

Toronto did manage to get Cole’s pitch count up but the only number that really matters is the one run he allowed. On the other end, the Blue Jays pitching was not even close being on the same level as the Yankees as they allowed 12 runs, another double-digit rout that has become too much of a common occurrence lately.

When Cavan Biggio hit a solo home run off Cole, he was able to shut down any hope of a potential rally from Toronto. Fortunately, the opposing team don’t have an entire pitching staff filled with a player of Cole’s talent and that’s where the team might have to be patient and wait for the right time to strike.

Of course, the confidence the team can gain by beating an elite starter would mean a lot for a young Blue Jays team that took some time to find its groove offensively. Injuries have played a factor but so has some hot and cold streaks which are common during a season.

While there is excitement about the team’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot down to two, Toronto will need to gain some measure of momentum otherwise it could be an early and disappointing end to their season.

What do you think about the Blue Jays’ play as of late? What do they need to improve on? Let us know in the comments below.