The Toronto Blue Jays are in first place in the American League East after sweeping a four-game series from the New York Yankees.
The Blue Jays’ next task will be to stay there, starting Friday night with the opener of a three-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Angels.
Toronto took a one-game lead over the Yankees and the idle Tampa Bay Rays with an 8-5 win over New York on Thursday. It is the first time the Blue Jays have led the division this late in the season since 2016, when they finished in a wild-card spot. They last captured the East title in 2015.
The Blue Jays have won 49 of their first 87 games for the first time since 1993, the last time they won the World Series.
They hope George Springer remains hot after he went 8-for-14 (.571) with four home runs, 11 RBIs, four walks and seven runs against the Yankees. He is batting .513 (20-for-39) with four homers and 19 RBIs in his past 11 games.
“He can put you on his back and carry you,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “I’m never going to count George Springer out of anything.”
He leads the team with 15 home runs after going deep twice on Thursday.
The Angels, meanwhile, are back to .500 after defeating the host Atlanta Braves 5-1 on Thursday in the decisive game of a three-game series. Los Angeles is set to complete its six-game road trip against the Blue Jays, who will be finishing off a seven-game homestand.
Toronto is scheduled to start left-hander Eric Lauer (4-1, 2.60 ERA) on Friday. His only career outing against the Angels was a relief outing on May 6, when he threw one pitch to retire the only batter he faced.
The Angels are scheduled to start right-hander Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 4.66 ERA). He is 0-1 with a 4.32 ERA in three career starts against Toronto.
Los Angeles won two of three games against the Blue Jays in Anaheim, Calif., from May 6-8.
The Angels got a boost on Thursday from shortstop Zach Neto, who went 3-for-5 with a double, a homer and a stolen base. In his previous five games, he went 0-for-13.
“Just being aggressive,” Neto said of his approach. “It’s been my game the whole year. It’s just a matter of getting my pitch and not missing it.”
The Angels will be without rookie second baseman Christian Moore, who landed on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained left thumb. Moore, who jammed the thumb on a diving attempt at a catch on Wednesday, hopes for a quick return.
“I think it’s pretty much up to my body and how it heals itself,” he said.
Chad Stevens was promoted from Triple-A Salt Lake to take Moore’s roster spot. Stevens started at second base on Thursday and went 0-for-4 in his major league debut.
Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette did not start any of the games against the Yankees after stepping on a ball during batting practice that resulted in a sore right knee. He did return on Thursday as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and finished the game at shortstop.
The Blue Jays have a run differential of plus-9, by far the worst among division leaders, which suggests they are overperforming in terms of wins and losses.
“There are lots of ways to win,” Schneider said. “There’s not one recipe to win, and I think that expected win-loss, yeah, there’s some truth to that. It’s making a play when most other people wouldn’t. It’s taking an extra base when most others wouldn’t and putting a ball in play when most others wouldn’t. We’re OK with that. That’s how we’re built.”
–Field Level Media
