The race for the AL East crown just got a whole lot more interesting after the Toronto Blue Jays won both games of Saturday’s double-header against the New York Yankees, 9-5 and 10-7.
With the twofer, the Blue Jays have extended their lead atop the AL East standings to 4.5 games over the Yankees, now losers of five-straight games. However, midseason prized acquisition Troy Tulowitzki’s season could be in jeopardy after suffering what seems to be a broken shoulder blade in the second game of the double-header. Can New York gain ground in the standings and salvage a win in this final bout of a four-game series against Toronto?
Read on as we take a closer look at this pivotal matchup. The Big Apple has an even bigger Sunday ahead of it now that the first week of the NFL’s regular season is in full gear. Check out our previews for Cleveland Browns vs. New York Jets and New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys right after this.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees
Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx
When: Sunday, September 13, 2015
Line: Toronto Blue Jays (+122) vs. New York Yankees (-132); total: 8.5 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Toronto Blue Jays
There’s no other team in the majors right now that has been as hot as the Toronto Blue Jays (82-60) since the end of the trade deadline. And after winning both games of a double-header on Saturday against the Yankees, the Jays are now 22 games over .500 for the first time since 1993, the year that the team won its last World Series.
[sc:MLB240banner ]However, that feat came at a costly price as shortstop Troy Tulowitzki faces missing the rest of the season after breaking his left scapula in a collision with fellow teammate Kevin Pillar during the second game on Saturday. While the final word on Tulowitzki’s condition has yet to be announced, Toronto will definitely be hoping for his return in time for the postseason.
Nevertheless, the Blue Jays still have a wealth of offensive firepower on their hands to keep their best season in decades on the up and up. Leftfielder Ben Revere is on fire with 22 runs in his past 21 games, including going for a combined 6-for-12 against the Yankees on Saturday. Meanwhile, hard-hitting Jose Bautista is 6-for-13 through the first three games of this four-game series with New York.
Set to take the mound on Sunday for the Blue Jays is R.A. Dickey (10-10, 4.01 ERA). The knuckleballer has nearly found his Cy-Young-form as of late, going 7-0 with an ERA of 2.68 over his last 11 starts. The Jays won the first ten games before losing the 11th game during that stretch. Dickey has also allowed just two runs in his last two games in 15 innings of work.
Toronto is 7-3 in its last 10 games away from home.
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Betting on the New York Yankees
As horrible as it may sound, the reality is that the New York Yankees (77-64) will benefit the most out of Tulowitzki’s injury throughout the remainder of the season. The Yanks have to catch up with the Blue Jays in the standings to prevent missing the playoffs for the third-consecutive season.
First and foremost, the team has to prevent further bleeding by putting an end to their five-game losing streak and avoid getting swept by Toronto in this current series all the same. Thankfully, Japanese sensation Masahiro Tanaka (11-6, 3.57 ERA) is set to start in the series finale.
Tanaka has been exceptional versus the Blue Jays, with his most recent outing being a 4-1 win in Toronto where he surrendered just five hits. He has a record of 4-2 and a 2.65 ERA in six career starts against the boys from up north, and has held several notable Toronto batters in check like Josh Donaldson (1-of-10), Jose Bautista (3-for-17) and Ryan Goins (0-for-9).
But in order for New York to win this game on Sunday and prove that it can still hang with Toronto in the playoff race, several hitters have got to break out of their respective funks at going up against 40-year-old Dickey. Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Chase Headley and Chris Young have hitting averages of less than .200 against the 2012 Cy Young Award winner.
The Yankees have lost four-straight and eight of their last ten games against Toronto.
Writer’s Prediction
New York prevents the four-game series sweep with a 5-2 victory.
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