This week at Rogers Centre the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays rekindle their AL East rivalry with three games north of the border. Last season the AL East became the first division in the divisional play era with four 90-win teams, and it's not crazy to think it could happen again this year. In that case, these head-to-head games become that much more important.
It's never too early to scoreboard watch, especially not when the division is expected to be as competitive as the AL East this year, so here are the standings as of Monday morning:
- Yankees: 16-6
- Blue Jays: 15-8 (1 1/2 GB)
- Rays: 12-10 (4 GB)
- Red Sox: 9-14 (7 1/2 GB)
- Orioles: 8-14 (8 GB)
"They're a really good team off to a good start," Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters, including Dan Martin of the New York Post, about facing the Blue Jays this week. "They're a team I'm sure we're gonna have to battle all year if we want to get to where we want to go."
The Yankees are currently riding a nine-game winning streak. The Blue Jays won nine of their last 12 games, including seven by one run. Here are the details for this week's Yankees vs. Blue Jays series at Rogers Centre. Games on MLB Network can be streamed on fuboTV (try for free).
| Date | Start time | Starting pitchers | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
Mon., May 2 | 7:07 p.m. ET | LHP Jordan Montgomery (0-1, 2.70) vs. RHP Ross Stripling (0-0, 3.60) | YES Network, Sportsnet ONE |
Tues., May 3 | 7:07 p.m. ET | RHP Jameson Taillon (1-1, 3.26) vs. RHP Alek Manoah (4-0, 1.44) | YES Network, Sportsnet ONE, MLB Network |
Weds., May 4 | 7:07 p.m. ET | LHP Nestor Cortes (1-0, 1.31) vs. LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-1, 5.52) | YES Network, Sportsnet ONE |
Neither team's top two starters -- Gerrit Cole and Luis Severino for the Yankees, José Berríos and Kevin Gausman for the Blue Jays -- will start this series, though Manoah and Cortes have the best numbers in their respective rotations. They could not be any more different. Manoah is a pure power pitcher. Cortes is a funky lefty. Too bad they won't face each other. It would've been a blast.
Here are a few things to know heading into this week's Yankees vs. Blue Jays series, with a prediction thrown in for good measure.
1. The season series is even
This will be the second time the Yankees and Blue Jays meet this season. They split four games in Yankee Stadium last month, in the second series of the year. That series is best remembered for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hitting three home runs after his hand was inadvertently stepped on at first base. It was an MVP kinda night for Vlad Jr.
"I didn't want to come out of the game," Guerrero told MLB.com's Keegan Matheson. "I already had in my mind that I wasn't going to come out of the game, no matter what. I told (manager Charlie Montoyo), 'I'm not coming out of the game.'"
The Yankees shut the Blue Jays out twice in that series last month, the only two times Toronto has been shut out this season. It was also the first time the Blue Jays were shut out twice in a one series since the Twins blanked them in back-to-back games on May 6-7, 2019. Here are the results of last month's series at Yankee Stadium:
- April 11: TOR 3, NYY 0 (box score)
- April 12: NYY 4, TOR 0 (box score)
- April 13: TOR 6, NYY 4 (box score)
- April 14: NYY 3, TOR 0 (box score)
Four of the six starting pitchers scheduled to pitch in this series also pitched in that series. Montgomery and Stripling (who was in the bullpen at the time) are the two exceptions. Division rivals are beginning to see each other for a second time this season, so the familiarity is building and game plans are being adjusted. The cat and mouse game continues this week.
2. Who's hot, who's not
Now that we're into May, it's fair to wonder whether a player's fast start is a legitimate breakout, or whether a slow start is cause for alarm. Like every other team, the Yankees and Blue Jays each have players who are performing well and performing poorly. Here are three Yankees who are heading into this week's series at the top of their game (stats over the last 14 days):
| PA | AVG/OBP/SLG | 2B | HR | RBI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
48 | .333/.375/.844 | 2 | 7 | 15 | |
43 | .368/.395/.447 | 3 | 0 | 7 | |
52 | .311/.404/.778 | 3 | 6 | 13 |
Rizzo leads baseball with nine home runs and Judge is second with eight. The guys who are supposed to carry the offense are carrying the offense. Giancarlo Stanton has started the heat up as well, so the middle of the New York lineup is pretty fearsome right now. Kiner-Falefa has been a singles machine near the bottom of the order.
On the flip side, the Yankees are still waiting for Joey Gallo and Josh Donaldson to get going (.195/.314/.331 combined). Gallo hit a pair of home runs last week and Donaldson is taking a ton of walks, but at some point the Yankees will need consistent production rather than glimpses. Now here are Toronto's three hottest hitters entering the series (stats over the last 14 days):
| PA | AVG/OBP/SLG | 2B | HR | RBI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
45 | .268/.311/.488 | 3 | 2 | 7 | |
51 | .277/.314/.468 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
49 | .310/.388/.619 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
Acquired in the Steve Pearce trade with the Red Sox in 2018, Espinal's turned himself into a nice little ballplayer, one who serves as a high-end complementary piece in a contender's lineup. Springer continues to climb the all-time leadoff home run leaderboard and, aside from last year's injuries, he's been everything the Blue Jays could've hoped when they signed him last offseason.
Notably absent from that list: Guerrero. Vlad Jr. hasn't been bad lately, but since the three-homer game in New York he is 13 for 57 (.228) with two homers, and he recently missed a game after fouling a pitch into his foot. Also, Bo Bichette has yet to get going this season. He's hitting .214/.238/.327 overall even after Sunday's homer. The Blue Jays need more from Bo.
3. The Yankees are expected to be at full strength
Like the United States, Canada requires all incoming international travelers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and we've already seen a few teams go into Toronto shorthanded because of vaccination status. For their Toronto series last month, the Athletics were without three players and the Red Sox were without two players, including Tanner Houck.
Teams can (but are not required to) place players who can not play due to vaccine mandates on the restricted list. Players on the restricted list are not paid and do not collect service time, and they can be replaced on the active roster. That said, they are being replaced on the roster by an inferior player, which hurts the team on the field.
We won't know for certain whether the Yankees will have all their players for this series until it begins and everyone is on the field, though Boone indicated a few weeks ago they should be good. "I think we're going to be in a good spot. That's my understanding," Boone said. Hard to think Boone would say that only for the Yankees to show up without a key player or two.
Judge in particular has been cagey about his vaccination status since last season. He's off to a great start this year and, as noted earlier, he's has been especially good the last two weeks. Losing him for three games against an AL East competitor would be a significant blow for the Yankees. Boone made it sound like Judge will be available though.
(For what it's worth, Judge did not play Saturday as part of the Yankees' regular rest schedule. Wouldn't it be silly to rest Judge that day if he has a three-day break coming when the team is in Toronto this week? All signs point to Judge playing.)
4. The Blue Jays are missing several key players
The Yankees have been remarkably healthy in the early going this season. They have four players on the injured list (Zack Britton, Domingo Germán, Ben Rortvedt, Stephen Ridings) and all four injuries were suffered either late last season or during offseason workouts. Other than Gallo's minor groin tightness this past weekend (he's missed one game), the Yankees have not had a player suffer a new injury since the start of spring training.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are without several important players. Cleanup hitter Teoscar Hernández strained his oblique during the last Yankees series and could return this weekend. Lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu has a forearm issue and is progressing with his rehab. Utility man Cavan Biggio (COVID), catcher Danny Jansen (oblique), and righty Nate Pearson (mononucleosis) are out too. Hernández is the big one. Toronto's offense has scuffled at times and he's a difference-making bat in the middle of the order. They need him.
"I miss my boys, my teammates, but seeing them competing and winning those close games it makes me feel better about taking the time to get ready because I know they can handle it," Hernández told Sportsnet's Shi Davidi last week. "They've been doing a pretty good job and I'm just happy for everybody. And it feels good getting those close games. That's what we're here for. We're getting ready for playoffs and that's playoff baseball. I'm just trying to continue to get better and get with the team soon."
5. Rosters go back to 26 players
When play begins around the league Monday, each team will have two fewer players on their active roster. The expanded 28-man roster period ends Monday, though MLB and the MLBPA recently agreed to delay the 13-pitcher limit. That won't begin until May 29. Teams can still carry up to 14 pitchers between Monday and May 29.
On Sunday, the Yankees announced utility man Miguel Andújar and righty Clarke Schmidt were sent to Triple-A, giving them 13 pitchers and 13 position players. The Blue Jays demoted lefty Andrew Vasquez and utility man Gosuke Katoh. They'll begin this week's series with 14 pitchers and 12 position players.
6. Prediction!
Let's close with a prediction. The official CBS Sports prediction for this week's series: Yankees win two of three. New York is firing on just about all cylinders right now while the Blue Jays are still trying to fully click offensively, and also get healthy. Overall, these are two very good evenly matched teams. I think the Yankees have a slight edge right now given each team's season to date.
