As the calendar turns to September, it might be worth it for the Toronto Blue Jays to hold a small ceremony of gratitude for the month of August.
After all, their 16-12 record during the 31 days just completed represent their best month of the season.
What was supposed to be a month of letting the kids play out the string has turned into a wildly entertaining stretch of baseball for the Blue Jays, capped nicely by a franchise record-tying 15-0 shutout win in Minnesota on Saturday.
Who knew that trading all those regulars — Yimi Garcia, Nate Pearson, Danny Jansen, Justin Turner, Yusei Kikuchi — before the July 30 deadline would look like this?
Sunday’s rubber match (2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+) at Target Field will present a more difficult challenge than Saturday’s 23-hit effort against rookie Twins starter Zebby Matthews.
Expected Minnesota starter Bailey Ober might be coming off a rough one the last time out (seven hits in just two innings of work against Atlanta), but he’s still 12-6 this season with a WHIP of 1.03.
The Blue Jays are expected to counter with Yariel Rodriguez (1-6, 4.82 ERA), who has two losses and three no-decisions in his last five outings.
As for the rest of the Blue Jays, outfielder Daulton Varsho is reportedly dealing with a right shoulder issue and will be rested, what with Monday’s off-day offering a chance for a two-day respite. The same goes for regulars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer, who are also not slated to start.
The club made a pair of moves to bolster the roster on Sunday, recalling infielder Luis De Los Santos and left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert from triple-A Buffalo, with Major League rosters expanding from 26 to 28 players. De Los Santos was immediately pencilled in at third base for Sunday’s game.
One player who does not appear to need any time off is rookie Will Wagner. The key piece in the trade that sent Kikuchi to Houston, Wagner is batting .357 in 16 games since making his MLB debut on Aug. 12. The 26-year-old son of legendary Houston Astros pitcher Billy Wagner capped off his first month of major-league ball with a five-hit game on Saturday, becoming the first rookie in franchise history to achieve the feat.
Nonetheless, Wagner was excluded from manager John Schneider’s starting lineup, with Leo Jimenez scheduled to start at second base and Ernie Clement at short.
— With files from David Singh, Sportsnet