TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST: The Blue Jays wrapped up their three-game series with the Brewers by a score of 3-1 yesterday…Are now 4-2 in rubber games…Improved to 6-2-0 in series play at home and 11-7-0 overall. Toronto finished its homestand at 4-2 and is now 15-10 at Rogers Centre this year…Has won five of its last nine games but is 6-11 across its last 17 contests.
UN-BO-LIEVEABLE OUTPUT: Bo Bichette opened yesterday’s scoring with a solo shot in the 1st inning…Was his team-leading 12th home run, also the most among all shortstops (2nd: Francisco Lindor/Bobby Witt Jr. – 10)…Has hits in 11 of his last 12 games, going 20-for-54 (.370) with a double, a triple, three home runs, and nine RBI over that span (.974 OPS). The 25-year-old leads all MLB hitters with 81 hits (2nd: Freddie Freeman – 79)…Also leads the AL with 130 total bases, trailing only Freeman (134) for the most in MLB…His .332 batting average ranks 1st in the AL while he is currently 4th in SLG (.533), 5th in OPS (.901), T-8th in home runs, and 10th in OBP (.368)…Now has 97 hard-hit balls (95+ MPH) this season, trailing only teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (100) for the AL lead.
BATT CHAPMAN: Matt Chapman cranked a two-run homer in the 1st inning yesterday…Marked his 8th home run of the season and his AL-best 29th extra-base hit. The third baseman also leads the AL in doubles (21) and sits T-5th with 61 hits…Ranks 2nd among MLB hitters with a 60.5 hard-hit percentage (1st: Judge – 64.0) while ranking 3rd in barrel rate (13.4%), 4th in hard-hit balls (92), and 7th in average exit velocity (94.3 MPH).
A CENTURY IN THE MAKING: Kevin Gausman threw 6.2 frames of shutout ball yesterday, scattering five hits and a pair of walks while registering 11 strikeouts…Was his MLB-high 5th game with double-digit punchouts…Now sits at an AL-best 100 strikeouts (2nd: Shohei Ohtani – 90)… Reached the century strikeout mark in just 12 games, the fastest in franchise history (2nd: Roger Clemens/A.J. Burnett/Robbie Ray – 14G). The righty threw 115 pitches on the afternoon (74 strikes), matching himself for the most pitches in a MLB game this season (115 on May 21 vs. BAL)… Among AL pitchers, is also tied for 1st with Shane Bieber in innings pitched while ranking 5th in SO/BB (5.56), and 7th in ERA (2.76).
AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL: Kevin Kiermaier reached a sprint speed of 30.4 feet/ second while travelling 92 feet to take extra bases away from Andruw Monasterio in the right-center gap yesterday…Today, Sports Info Solutions has named him as the SIS/Fielding Bible Awards Co-Defensive Player of the Month for May, along with Austin Hays…Kiermaier had six defensive runs saved in May and is currently the MLB overall leader at 12.
SPRINGER HAS SPRUNG: George Springer singled twice yesterday…Has gone 31-for-100 (.310) with four doubles, a triple, four home runs, 12 RBI, and a 13BB/14K ratio during his last 26 contests (.389 OBP, .879 OPS).
A WEEKEND IN THE CITI: The Blue Jays are on a brief, three-game road trip to Citi Field…Own a 15-17 road record this season for a .469 win% (9th in the AL)…After this series, will return home for a seven-game homestand, taking on the Astros for four games and the Twins for three. Blue Jays hitters lead the Majors with 304 road hits (2nd: TEX – 292)…Rank 2nd in the AL in road AVG (.267), 2nd in road SLG (.439), 2nd in road OPS (.770) and 3rd in road OBP (.331)…The pitching staff ranks 13th in the AL in road ERA (4.57), road opponents’ average (.262), and in road WHIP (1.40).
INTERTAINMENT: Toronto is playing its 6th interleague series of the year…Has gone 9-5 vs. NL clubs so far…The .643 win% is 4th best among AL teams…Led the AL with 13 interleague wins last season, which was one off the franchise’s all-time single-season record (14 in 2021)…Since the beginning of the 2021 campaign, Toronto’s .667 win% in Interleague Play (36-18) is 2nd best among all MLB clubs (1st: TB – .672). The Blue Jays have hit 657 home runs all-time in Interleague Play, the most among all 30 teams (2nd: NYY – 625).
HITTING IT: The Blue Jays have notched an MLB-leading 530 hits this season (2nd: TB – 524)…Are currently 3rd in the AL in team AVG (.266), 4th in OBP (.333), 5th in SLG (.420), 5th in OPS (.755), and 5th in extra-base hits (175). The Blue Jays are one of two MLB teams to have scored in every game this season (also: ARI)…Have gone 75 straight games without being shut out, the longest active streak in the Majors (2nd: ARI – 58G).
VS. THE METS: All-Time: 13-22
2023: 0-0 Road: 2-14
Road: 0-0 Citi Field: 2-5
The Blue Jays last met up with the Mets in July of 2021, going 1-2 during the three-game series at Citi Field…Are 13-22 all-time vs. New York…Went 0-9 at Shea Stadium and are 2-5 at Citi Field. Brandon Belt leads all current Blue Jays with 57 career games played against the Mets…Has kept a .725 OPS while batting .216 (42-for-194) with six doubles, four triples, eight home runs, 19 RBI, and 27 walks (.312 OBP). Daulton Varsho had hits in all six of his games vs. New York last season…Went 7-for-23 (.304) with four runs scored, two home runs, four RBI, and two walks for a .911 OPS. Chris Bassitt spent last season with the Mets and set career highs in wins (15), starts (30), quality starts (19), innings pitched (181.2), and strikeouts (167).
STARTING PITCHER – Chris Bassitt, RHP #40
TODAY’S GAME: Making his 12th start of the season and his 7th on the road…Took the loss his last time out, on 5/27 at MIN, giving up 7 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks over 4.0 innings with 5 punchouts. Ranks 7th in the AL with a .207 opponent average this year…Has held opposing RHH to a .153 AVG, the 2nd-lowest mark in the Majors. Over his last 10 starts, has gone 5-3 with a 2.71 ERA (19 ER/63.0 IP) and a 1.05 WHIP.
2023 HIGHLIGHTS: Allowed 6 runs (2 earned) across 6.1 frames of work on 5/22 at TB…Had his career-best scoreless innings streak ended at 28.0…Marked the 2ndlongest single-season streak in franchise history (Roger Clemens: 33.0 IP from 8/15-9/5/98), and the 3rd-longest overall (Dave Stieb: 34.0 IP from 9/13/88-4/5/89). Tossed 7.0 shutout innings on 5/17 vs. NYY, giving up 3 hits, a walk, and a hit batter with 7 strikeouts…Became just the 4th non-opener in Blue Jays history to throw 3 consecutive scoreless starts in a single season, joining Roger Clemens (1998), Al Leiter (1995), and Dave Stieb (1988). Threw a complete game shutout on 5/12 vs. ATL, the 2nd CG SO of his career (also: 5/27/21 vs. LAA), and the 1st nine-inning complete game shutout by a Blue Jay since Mark Buehrle on 6/3/15 at WAS…Scattered 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 hit batters while striking out a season-high 8 on 103 pitches (70 strikes). Improved to 4-2 on the year on 5/5 at PIT…Threw a then season-high 7.0 shutout innings, scattering 4 hits and 4 walks with 5 strikeouts. Logged 6.1 innings of work on 4/24 vs. CWS, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, while walking 3 and recording 4 strikeouts…Left the game in the 7th with right lower back tightness…Was his 4th straight quality start, going 3-1 with a 2.19 ERA (6 ER/24.2 IP) over that span. Picked up his 2nd win of the year on 4/18 at HOU, throwing 6.1 innings of shutout ball with 3 hits, a walk, and 5 strikeouts…Marked his 3rd straight quality start, and his 1st scoreless outing of the season. Earned his 1st win as a Blue Jay on 4/7 at LAA, allowing 3R/2ER on 2 hits and 5 walks over 6.0 frames with 5 strikeouts. Took the loss in his Toronto debut on 4/2 at STL, giving up career highs in runs (9) and homers (4) over 3.1 innings (10H, 0BB, 0K).
NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Philies on Thursday, beating Philadelphia, 4-2…The Mets are coming off their eighth series win of the season and their fifth series win at home…New York continues a six-game homestand (3-0) against Philadelphia (3-0) and Toronto (three games)…New York is off on Monday before the start of a six-game road trip to Atlanta (three games) and Pittsburgh (three games).
THEY’RE OUT OF MY LEAGUE: The new schedule format has New York playing a total of 43 Interleague games in 2023, more than double their previous high for a single season (20)…The Mets are 8-4 against the American League this year…Overall, New York owns a 243-231 record in Interleague play…The team’s .513 winning percentage is the second-best among National League clubs.
INTERSTELLAR: Jeff McNeil owns a .333/.382/.454 slashline with 41 runs, 14 doubles, seven home runs and 36 RBI in 79 Interleague games, while Starling Marte has slashed .326/.388/.542 with 118 runs, 45 doubles, 11 triples, 28 home runs and 88 RBI in 181 Intearleague games…They rank first and third in average among active players in Interleague play (min. 250 PA)…McNeil’s .333 clip is the highest all-time by a Met.
INTERLEAGUE PETE: Pete Alonso has hit 35 home runs in Interleague Play since the 2019 season…His 35 home runs against the American League is a franchise record, and the most among any player since 2019…Mike Piazza was the previous record holder with 28 Interleague home runs.
CANHA GET AN AMEN?: Over the last 14 games, Mark Canha is 12-36 (.333) with seven runs, two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, five walks with .442 OBP, .556 SLG and a .997 OPS…He has safely reached base in each of his last nine games with a plate appearance, batting .348 (8-23) with five runs, two home runs, six RBI, five walks with a 1.091 OPS in that span.
BROOKS WAS HERE: Brooks Raley allowed four earned runs in one inning of work on April 4 in Milwaukee…Since then he has piched to a 1.08 ERA (2 ER/16.2 IP) with six walks and 19 strikeouts…Since returning from the IL, the southpaw has not allowed a run in any of his last nine games, striking out 11 over those 7.2 innings.
HOMER HAPPY: After the Mets went five straight games without a home run, the Mets have homered in season-high 15 straight contests, hitting 24
home runs in that span…It is the longest active streak in the majors…The Mets are 25-13 when hitting a home run this season and 9-7 when hitting multiple homers…The 15-game homer streak is the second-longest in franchise history.
GAMES DATES HOME RUNS
21 September 16 – August 5, 1996 29
15 May 16 – current 24
14 June 20 – July 5, 2019 24
14 August 20 – September 3, 2008 21
14 April 25 – May 10, 2006 20
LONGEST HOME RUN STREAKS IN METS HISTORY
IF YOU START ME OFF: The Mets are 16-0 this season when their starter goes at least 6.0 innings and 6-0 when the starter goes at least 7.0 innings…The Mets 16-0 record is the best in the majors…New York’s 16 straight such team wins is the longest single-season streak since the Astros went 17 straight in 2021…Courtesy of Elias.
EIGHT DAYS A WEEK: The Mets have won eight straight home games, the longest streak since winning nine consecutive from May 18-June 14, 2022…New York has pitched to a 2.80 ERA (23 ER/74.0 IP) in that span with 16 walks and 71 strikeouts and has hit .243/.323/.414…The Mets have outscored opponents 38-26 in the streak…The Mets have played 24 games at Citi Field, the fewest home games in the majors this season…The team is 15-9 at Citi Field this year…The team won 54 games at home last year.
EIGHT IS GREAT: The Mets are 27-0 when leading after eight innings this season…The last time the Mets lost a game when they were ahead after eight innings was on September 6, 2021 at Washington…The Mets were up 3-2 and lost 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth…Since then the Mets have won their last 122 games when ahead after eight, the longest active streak in MLB…It’s the longest streak in franchise history, surpassing the previous high of 117 consecutive games.
FOR PETE’S SAKE: Pete Alonso has hit 20 home runs this year, which leads the majors leagues…His 46 RBI are fourth in The Show and lead the National League…Alonso ranks 12th in franchise history with 426 career RBI…Next up is Kevin McReynolds (456) and Keith Hernandez (468)…Alonso has appeared in all 56 of the Mets games this year.
Player HR Ballpark
PETE ALONSO 71 CITI FIELD
Paul Goldschmidt 103 ARI
Freddie Freeman 70 ATL
Joey Votto 190 CIN
Miguel Cabrera 188 DET
Mike Trout 183 LAA
Player HR Ballpark
Giancarlo Stanton 112 MIA
Aaron Judge 123 NYY
Andrew McCutchen 96 PIT
Evan Longoria 129 TB
Adolis García 44 TEX
ACTIVE PLAYERS WHO HOLD ACTIVE BALLPARK’S HR RECORD
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Francisco Alvarez has hit eight home runs this season…That puts him tied for the fourth-most by a rookie in the majors and third in the National League…Only two rookie catchers in Mets history have had more homers in a season…Travis d’Arnaud (13) holds the club mark for home runs by a rookie catcher in 2014…Jason Phillips hit 11 as a rookie in 2003…Alvarez’s nine career homers (one last year) before turning 22 years old are the most by a catcher since Iván Rodríguez had 21 from 1991-1993.
STEAL THIS BASE: The Mets are second in the major leagues with an 86.7% stolen base success rate this season…Starling Marte has swiped 16 bags this year, tied for fifth in the majors and tied for second in the National League… His 330 career stolen bases rank second among active players…Elvis Andrus is the active leader with 340 steals.
D-FENCE: The Mets have committed 19 errors in 57 games this year, the fewest errors in the majors…New York owns a .990 fielding percentage… Their .990 fielding percentage also leads the major leagues.
STARTING PITCHER – JUSTIN VERLANDER RHP #35
2023 STATS: 2-2, 4.80 E R A
VERLANDER PITCH ARSENL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 52% 55% 49% 94.3 mph
Slider 29% 26% 33% 87.4 mph
Curveball 16% 14% 18% 79.3 mph
Changeup 3% 3% 0% 84.9 mph
LAST TIME OUT: Allowed a season-high-tying six run over 5.0 innings on nine hits, one walk and two strikeouts May 27 at Colorado…Was the second time in his last three starts allowing six runs.
INCREDIBLE IN INTERLEAGUE PLAY: In 58 career Interleague starts, Verlander is 39-10 with a 2.67 ERA (113 ER/380.1 IP)…In Interleague play history, Verlander has the most wins, the second-most strikeouts (420) trailing only Max Scherzer (452) and the third-lowest ERA among qualifiers…In his last Interleague start, May 21 vs. Cleveland, Verlander earned his 42nd career Interleague quality start, tied with Zack Greinke for the most quality starts in Interleague play history.
BLANKING THE BLUE JAYS: Two of Justin Verlander’s three no-hitters have come against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre…Verlander is the only pitcher in major league history to throw multiple no-hitters at a single road venue and is one of three pitchers all-time to throw multiple no-hitters against a single opponent joining Addie Joss vs. Chicago-AL (1908, 1910) and Tim Lincecum vs. San Diego (2013, 2014).
30 FOR 3O: With a win on May 10th against the Reds, Verlander became the 21st pitcher in major league history to have at least one win against all 30 current major league teams…He joined Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke and teammate Max Scherzer as the only active pitchers to have at least one win against all 30 current major league teams…Courtesy of Elias.
