BALTIMORE – The Toronto Blue Jays may not have decided exactly how they’re going to handle Aaron Sanchez’s workload from here on, but this much is apparent: the 24-year-old right-hander continues producing like a front-line starter.
Pitching for the first time since a 10-day stint in Dunedin, Fla., Sanchez held the Baltimore Orioles to one unearned run in six innings Wednesday. That performance allowed the Blue Jays to beat the Orioles 5-3, improve to 76-57 on the season and preserve a 2.0 game lead over the Boston Red Sox in the American League East.
After facing the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 20, Sanchez was optioned to the Blue Jays’ Class A affiliate, where he pitched a simulated game and worked out while also making sure to catch up on sleep for the stretch run. He returned throwing 93-96 mph fastballs along with an effective mix of curveballs and changeups.
“I didn’t forget how to pitch. I think that was my biggest thing,” Sanchez said. “Telling myself, understanding that ‘even when you do get back to a big-league atmosphere it’s back to the basics and back to doing what you’ve done all year.’”
It would have been a waste of a roster spot to keep Sanchez around if he wasn’t pitching, so the Blue Jays made the unusual decision to send him down in the midst of a breakout season. The thinking: he’d come back stronger than before. So far, the returns are encouraging.
“He looked sharp, man, he didn’t skip a beat,” said catcher Russell Martin.
“I thought he was really good. I think the rest probably did him wonders,” manager John Gibbons said. “They battled late, but it just shows you how far he’s come.”
Sanchez did labour at times in his final two innings and ended up throwing a career-high 112 pitches in a start he described as a grind. Even so, he kept the Orioles in check. Wednesday’s start lowered his ERA to 2.88, which ranks second among all AL starters behind only Jose Quintana of the Chicago White Sox.
Sanchez has now pitched 162.1 innings with a month remaining in the season, setting up some intriguing decisions for the Blue Jays. While they aren’t going to lock themselves in on any one plan, the Blue Jays could consider skipping a start or two as a way to limit Sanchez’s workload (he’s definitely not going back to the bullpen, according to Gibbons). With some strategic timing, the Blue Jays could ensure that as many starts as possible are against Boston and Baltimore, though that’s just speculation for now.
Regardless of what they do, the Blue Jays will be watching for signs of fatigue. While Sanchez says he’s felt physically strong all year, Gibbons insists the Blue Jays will be careful anyways.
“We’re not going to get carried away, I know that,” Gibbons said.
The Blue Jays relied on home runs to generate their offence with one exception. After Dioner Navarro singled, Devon Travis doubled down the left field line and watched as the newly-trim catcher scored all the way from first base.
“He’s definitely not known for his speed,” Gibbons acknowledged. “He can run though.”
Other than that it was all power, as Jose Bautista continued producing at the plate, hitting his fourth lead-off home run of the season on the first pitch of the ballgame.
Three batters after Bautista, Russell Martin hit a two-run home run of his own to add to an exceptionally productive stretch at the plate. The catcher now has eight home runs and 21 RBI over the course of his last 15 games and has raised his season OPS to .759 despite an unusually slow start.
“The guys who have been around a while, usually they find their norm,” Gibbons said. “That’s what he’s doing.”
Michael Saunders continued his dominance of the Orioles pitching staff with his 23rd home run of the season. Remarkably, seven of those home runs have come against a group of Baltimore pitchers that’s surely pleased to see the Blue Jays leave town.
The extra offence helped out, as Roberto Osuna allowed a two-run home run to Jonathan Schoop in the ninth inning. Earlier in the frame Osuna took a line drive off of his glove hand, causing a scare but no serious damage.
The series in Baltimore opened a stretch of 15 consecutive games within the AL East. Making matters more difficult, the Blue Jays begin that run of intra-divisional games with a three-city road trip.
Thanks in large part to Sanchez, the Blue Jays emerge from Baltimore with a 2-1 series win and some momentum entering the month of September.
“I feel like there’s a lot of work left to do,” Martin said. “All the teams in our division are good. They’re all tough and for the most part we’re staying in our division until the end … We’re going to keep playing hard and doing the things we’ve been doing that are helping us win games and we’re going to have fun doing it.”