Back at it after a COVID enforced break. The Jays are in Atlanta tonight for a three game series. They will end the week with three games in Boston before going home to Buffalo for next week.
We still don't know if the Jays will be close to full strength. I assume Bo Bichette's tricky hammy will be OK. It's uncertain whether Grichuk will be back. Travis Shaw left the team for personal reasons, will he be back? We know Ken Giles will not be back. It seems that Giles doesn't want to be traded, he is always injured around the trade deadline. One person who could be back is Chase Anderson, the Jays say they expect him to be activated in the next few days. Will he be a starter? Can he bump Thornton, the other four starters seem to be guaranteed spots.
The Braves are playing well although their starting pitchers are in some disarray. Canadian Mike Soroka left yesterdays game with a torn Achilles tendon. And the Braves designates Mike Foltynewicz last week. Their best pitches has been Max Fried who goes against the Jays tonight. Matt Shoemaker counters for the Jays. The Jays starters for the final two games are Ryu and Pearson.
Following their Atlanta series, the Jays go to Boston to face the last place Red Sox. The Sox have had some pitching problems. Nate Eovaldi has the only quality start on the roster. Plus JD Martinez, Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers are not hitting, as of this writing.
The Jays have played pretty well even though they have a losing record. A 3-3 week on the road would be the minimum to keep optimism up, a 4-2 week would be good.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20200804103723524