Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson hits a two-run home run in the fifth inning during the July 17 game against the Rays. Toronto beat Tampa 6-2.Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
Drew Hutchison came back from Major League Baseball's all-star break to give Toronto Blue Jays fans a tantalizing glimpse of what their team can be.
Yes, it was another solid outing at home for Hutchison (9-2), who always pitches well at the Rogers Centre. He went six innings Friday night in a 6-2 win in front of 32,908 fans that brought the Jays back to .500 at 46-46.
But Hutchison's 7-1 record with a 2.21 ERA at home is paired with a shabby road record of 2-1 and an 8.81 ERA. If it had not been for the Blue Jays offence consistently scoring bunches of runs for him on the road that win-loss record would be much different.
"I would prefer to keep pitching well here and pitch better on the road," Hutchison said to the inevitable question after Friday's game.
The home-road difference, according to Jays manager John Gibbons, is because Hutchison has much better command of his pitches at the Rogers Centre. On Friday, for example, Hutchison said he was able to throw his changeup for strikes much more than he was before the break.
"I threw the changeup more and threw quality changeups instead of just throwing one," Hutchison said. "It came down to just executing quality pitches, as boring as that sounds."
While the Blue Jays went into the all-star break with a listless 45-46 record, four and a half games behind the New York Yankees in the American League's East Division, their potential was shown against Tampa. With the offence clicking into gear midway through the game and effective nights from Hutchison and relievers Bo Schultz and Roberto Osuna, it was a rare display of both sides of the team's game in top form.
All eyes are on Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos in hopes of a trade for one good starter and an equally dependable reliever. But there will be no turnaround unless a couple of the incumbent pitchers pull themselves together over the rest of the season and this game offered at least some hope of that.
A prominent case in point here is Hutchison. With Marcus Stroman lost for the season thanks to an injury in training camp, it was hoped Hutchison would build on the promise he showed last season and become a mainstay.
While his 8-2 record at the break looked impressive enough, Hutchison's 5.33 earned-run average told the real story. If it wasn't for his good fortune in getting lots of support from the Blue Jay bats, Hutchison's win-loss record would be much, much worse. He only made it as far as six innings in six starts but the Jays produced six or more runs in 14 of his 18 starts. The 7.81 runs Hutchison received per start ranks first in Major League Baseball.
Hutchison made it through six innings Friday night. The 24-year-old looked in command from the start, striking out Tampa designated hitter John Jaso to start the game and retiring the next two batters on fly balls.
"I think he's going to bounce back and have a good second half for us just like he did last year," Gibbons said of Hutchison.
Hutchison did surrender a solo home run to right fielder Grady Sizemore in the third inning but was otherwise solid. When he left after six innings for reliever Bo Schultz, Hutchison posted a tidy five hits, two earned-runs, two walks and three strikeouts.
On the offensive side of things, the Blue Jays took a few innings to get their sea legs back after the all-star break but broke open the game in the fourth and fifth innings with the usual bombs.
Jays first baseman Justin Smoak and, of course, third baseman Josh Donaldson stood out in those two innings as Rays starter Jake Odorizzi was clipped for a total of six runs. Smoak doubled off the right-field wall in the fourth, went to third on catcher Russell Martin's single and scored on a sacrifice fly by left fielder Chris Colabello. In the fifth, Donaldson blasted a two-run homer, his 22nd of the season, and then Smoak followed with a three-run shot, his ninth home run of the season. That gave the Jays a 6-1 lead.
Like Hutchison's performance, the collective work of the Jays' hitters was encouraging. While the bats did not go cold as the all-star break approached, the strain of trying to overcome bad pitching was starting to show
The team that produced close to six runs per game early in the season gradually cooled through July. In the 19 games leading to the break that average was down to 4.5 runs and their record in that stretch was 7-12.
"Yeah, no doubt, it was a tough stretch the last couple weeks [before the break]," Smoak said. "Just to sit back and take your mind off the game was great."