At the baseball season's midway point, the Toronto Blue Jays find themselves hovering near the playoff cutline after a rather underwhelming first half.
Bigger things were expected from a team that's in win-now mode but has been unable to break out. There have been pleasant surprises and big disappointments over a schedule that should be a little easier in the second half.
“We have a positive trend now,” Atkins said. “You keep putting yourself in a position to score runs and you're going to. We have done that. We're playing better defence. We're running the bases much better. We're doing a decent job of preventing runs.Toronto was 18-10 through late March and April but just 11-17 in May. The team's quality of play picked up in June, but the impact has been minimal with such strong competition in the East Division.
The Blue Jays were one game better at this point last year and went on to win 92 games and secure a wild-card berth. The team's biggest hole was caused by the demotion of right-hander Alek Manoah. Once considered a staff ace, he's trying to rebuild his game in the minors after struggling to a 1-7 mark.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Alek Manoah shelled in first start with Blue Jays minor-league squadAlek Manoah's first game action since being demoted by the Toronto Blue Jays did not go well.
Read more »
Struggling Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah allows 11 runs in first minor league gameToronto Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah was hit hard in his first game after returning to the minors, allowing 11 runs over 2 2/3 innings in a rookie-level Florida Complex League game on Tuesday.
Read more »
Struggling Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah allows 11 runs in first minor-league gameToronto Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah gets blasted in first minor league game, gives up 11 runs in less than three innings
Read more »
Left-fielder Daulton Varsho fitting in seamlessly with Blue Jays teammatesDaulton Varsho fitting in seamlessly with Blue Jays teammates after trade from Arizona Diamondbacks
Read more »
Blue Jays mid-term report card: Bo BichetteBo Bichette's season is much the opposite of last year's. Last year, at about this point, Bo was hitting .255/.298/.423. This year: Standard Batting ...
Read more »
Blue Jays mid-term report card: Whit MerrifieldNext up, Whit Merrifield. We picked up Merrifield in August last year in exchange for Max Castillo and Samad Taylor. Max has pitched in 4 games for the Royals with a 5.14 ERA. Samad was called up...
Read more »