TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST:
The Blue Jays wrapped up their four-game series in Kansas City with a 6-3 win yesterday…Took three of the four contests in The City for their 1st series win. Toronto has now won three straight games on the heels of a three-game slide and is back over .500 for the season.
A VLAD, VLAD MAN: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed a 436-foot homer to center field yesterday, his 2nd in as many days…Has homered in consecutive games for the 16th time in his career (5x in 2022). The 24-year-old also picked up a pair of hits on singles to finish 3-for-5 with two runs scored…Has put together back-to-back three-hit performances for the 5th time in his career (last: Sept. 5-6, 2021)…Has recorded an MLB-leading 17 hard-hit balls (95+ MPH) this year, one more than 2nd-place Matt Chapman…Recorded 265 hard-hit balls over the course of last season, the most in the Majors (2nd: José Abreu – 256).
STAT CHAPMAN: Matt Chapman drove in Toronto’s opening runs in the 1st inning yesterday with a two-RBI double… Is now batting .481 (13-for-27) with six doubles, two walks, and seven RBI for a 1.221 OPS through seven games…The 13 hits lead all MLB batters (2nd: seven players – 11) and are tied for the most ever by a Blue Jay through seven team games…The .481 batting average also leads the AL (3rd in MLB). The third baseman’s hot start also has him leading MLB in doubles while sitting T-3rd in extra-base hits…Among AL batters, currently ranks T-3rd in total bases (19), T-4th in OBP (.517), 5th in OPS, and 9th in SLG (.704).
A BIG-GIO BLAST: Cavan Biggio belted his 1st homer of the campaign yesterday, a solo shot into the right-field bullpen…Was also his 1st extra-base hit and 1st RBI of the year… Has gone 3-for-13 (.231) with three walks in his five games this season (.412 OBP).
GAUS FOR EXCITEMENT: Kevin Gausman tossed 6+ innings without allowing a run yesterday…Allowed four hits and two walks while striking out seven batters…Has not allowed an earned run in 2023, going 12.0 frames with 12 hits, three walks, and 14 punchouts for a 1.25 WHIP.
JUST BO WITH IT:
Bo Bichette picked up a pair of singles in a 2-for-5 afternoon…Has hits in all but one of the seven games so far, going 11-for-34 (.324) with a double, a homer, three RBI, and five runs scored…Led the AL in hits in each of the last two seasons, becoming the only player in team history to lead the league in hits more than once, and was the first player to do so since Whit Merrifield in 2018 and 2019 for the Royals.
HITTING IT: The Blue Jays have notched 74 hits so far, tied with the White Sox for the most in MLB…Currently rank 1st in the AL in AVG (.291) and OBP (.353) while sitting 6th in OPS (.759) and 7th in SLG (.406).
LENGTHY ROAD WORK: The Blue Jays start the season with 10 straight road contests as renovations wrap up at Rogers Centre… Ties the longest road trip to kick off a campaign in team history (10G in 1984)…Marks the 3rd trip of 10+ games to begin a season by any team in the last 20
years, joining the 2019 Red Sox (11G) and the 2022 Athletics (10G)…Played three games in St. Louis (1-2), four in Kansas City (3-1) and will now wrap up the trip with a trio here in Anaheim. Toronto’s .556 road win% in 2022 (45-36) ranked 3rd in the AL and tied for 2nd best in team history (1st: .580 in 1993)…Blue Jays hitters led the AL in road runs (416), AVG (.266), OBP (.331), SLG (.428), and OPS (.759)…The pitching staff ranked 5th in the AL in road ERA (3.70), 5th in road WHIP (1.24), and 6th in road opponents’ batting average (.245).
THE VAR-SHOW: Daulton Varsho doubled and scored in the 1st inning and then drove in a run with a 7th-inning single… Marked 4th multi-hit game as a Blue Jay…Is now batting .357 (10-for-28) with three doubles, a home run, and four RBI through seven games (.978 OPS).
GETTING ON: Toronto has had an MLB-high 100 batters reach base so far this season (2nd: ATL/LAD – 99)…Are now on a streak of 25 games with 8+ runners on base, the longest of all MLB clubs (courtesy Stats Perform). The Blue Jays led the AL in times on base in 2022 (2,395) as Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tied for 3rd most among AL hitters at 306.
MORE THAN YOUR AVERAGE TEAM: The Blue Jays led the Majors in 2022 with a .264 team batting average and 1,464 hits…Also led the AL in OBP (.329), SLG (.431), and OPS (.760) while ranked T-1st in extra-base hits (519), 2nd in runs (775), 2nd in doubles (307), and 3rd in home runs
(200)…Topped the AL in AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS for the 1st time in team history. Blue Jay batters combined for a hard-hit (95+ MPH) percentage of 44.3 in 2022, the top rate in MLB (2nd: ATL – 43.5) while their average exit velocity of 90.2 MPH was also highest in the Majors (2nd: ATL – 89.9)
VS. THE ANGELS: All-Time: 217-224
2022: 4-3 Road: 102-120
Road: 4-0 Angel Stadium: 102-120
The Blue Jays went 4-3 against the Angels last season…Claimed all four games in Anaheim last May, winning each of the last three by one run…Was their first season series win over the Halos since 2015… Their .405 win% vs. LAA since 2016 is their lowest vs. any AL opponent (2nd: TB – .411). Bo Bichette went 10-for-29 (.345) with four doubles, a homer, and three RBI in seven games vs. LAA last season…Was 7-for-19 with four extra-base hits while in Anaheim in 2022…Is a career .320 (16-for-50) hitter with six doubles, one home run, and eight RBI over
12 meetings (.870 OPS). Matt Chapman was 6-for-22 with a pair of doubles, four RBI, and four walks vs. the Angels last season (.385 OBP)…In 80 career games, the Victorville, CA, native has gone 73-for-285 (.256) with 18 doubles, four triples, 14 home runs, and 53 RBI (.854 OPS). George Springer leads all current Blue Jays with 110 games played against his former division rivals…Has batted .272 (112-for-412) in those contests, including 10 doubles, four triples, 27 homers, and 69 RBI for a .512 SLG and an .877 OPS.
STARTING PITCHER – Chris Bassitt, RHP #40
TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 2nd start of the season…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). Signed a three-year, $63 million deal with the Blue Jays on 12/16/22. Has finished seven of his eight career Major League seasons with a sub4.00 ERA, including each of the last five campaigns.
2022 HIGHLIGHTS:
In his lone season with the Mets, established career highs in wins (15), starts (30), quality starts (19), innings pitched (181.2), and strikeouts (167). Had 23 starts of at least 6.0 innings, his most in a single season in his career. His three starts of 8.0 innings were the most he had thrown in his career… Prior to 2022, had thrown at least 8.0 innings only three times (9.0 IP on 5/27/21 vs. LAA; 8.0 IP on 5/16/19 at DET; 8.0 IP on 8/15/15 at BAL). Did not walk a batter from 6/25-7/8 (13.1 innings) which is tied for the longest streak in his career. Tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts on 7/23 vs. SD (also: 9/7/19 vs. DET). Won four straight games for the 1st time in his career from Aug. 3-19, surrendering just two runs over that span. Went 8-3 with a 2.94 ERA (26 ER/79.2 IP) after the All-Star Break…His eight wins were tied for the 3rd-most in the Majors and the most in his career in the back half of a season.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Tossed the 1st complete game and shutout of his career on 5/27/21 vs. LAA (9.0 IP, 2H, BB, 9K).
Received two 5th-place votes in AL Cy Young balloting in 2021, finishing 10th in the vote…Earned his 1st All-Star honours.
Earned AL Pitcher of the Month for September 2020, his 1st monthly award…Pitched to a 0.34 ERA that month, allowing one run over 26.2 innings in four starts…Was the lowest September ERA in the Majors since Greg Maddux had a 0.29 ERA for Atlanta in 1995.
Started and won Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series vs. CWS on 9/30/20.
Selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 16th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.
VS. THE ANGELS:
Facing the Angels for the 13th time (11th start) of his career…Last faced LAA as a member of the Athletics on 7/30/21…Has thrown 16.0 scoreless innings over his last two meetings with the Angels, surrendering 8 hits with 2 walks and 16 punchouts…Tossed his only career complete shutout on 5/27/21 against the Halos in Oakland, giving up just 2 hits and a walk with 9 punchouts.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the first of six games on the opening homestand of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays (April 7-9) and Washington Nationals (April 10-12)… Halos went 4-2 on first road trip of year against Oakland (2-1) and Seattle (2-1), marking first time winning each of first two series of a season since 2018 (won first five series).
RED CARPET EVENT: Today, the Angels are hosting a Red Carpet Event in front of Angel Stadium from 12:30-4:00 p.m…The event will feature Angels player and alumni appearances, food trucks, a live radio broadcast, the Angels Strike Force and more.
HOME OPENERS: Angels are 27-35 all-time in Home Openers…LAA has won two of the last three Home Openers, taking a loss against the Astros last season, but defeating the White Sox in 2021 and Mariners in 2020.
BIG A FLYOVER: Following the tonight’s national anthems, Angel Stadium will have a flyover by the 144th Fighter Wing, a unit of the California Air National Guard, flying F-15C Eagles.
VLAD’S FIRST PITCH: Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero will throw the Honorary First Pitch prior tonight’s game…Guerrero was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018, becoming the first player to wear an Angels hat on his Hall of Fame plaque. His son, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., is a member of the opposing Toronto Blue Jays.
SANDY DAY: Patrick Sandoval is scheduled to start tonight’s game, marking his second career Home Opener assignment for the Angels (also started the Halos 2020 Home Opener)… Sandoval has a 0.45 ERA (20 IP – 1 ER) in four career April starts.
ANGELS RECENT RECORDS TO BEGIN SEASON
AFTER SIX GAMES: AFTER SEVEN GAMES:
2023: 4-2 2023: ???
2022: 3-3 2022: 3-4
2021: 4-2 2021: 5-2
2020: 2-4 2020: 2-5
2019: 1-5 2019: 1-6
ON WITH THE SHO: Dating back to last season, Shohei Ohtani has reached base safely (via hit, walk, or HBP) in a career-high 29 consecutive games…It’s the second-longest active streak in the Majors, behind Aaron Judge (39 games).
RENDON SUSPENDED: On Monday, Major League Baseball issued a five-game suspension and an undisclosed fine to Anthony Rendon for his actions involving a fan last Thursday in Oakland…The suspension was ultimately reduced to four games…Today will be the final game served of the suspension…The Angels will play with 25 active players during the suspension.
STARTING STRONG: Through the first six games of the season, Angels starting pitching has combined to post a 2.81 ERA (32 IP – 10 ER) with 35 strikeouts…The starters ERA ranks fifth in the Majors.
VS. TORONTO: Today is the first of six games this season between the Angels and Blue Jays…Halos will visit Toronto for three games July 28-30…Last year, Toronto won the season series 4-3 with the road team winning all seven games (Blue Jays swept all four games at Angel Stadium and the Angels swept a three game series at Rogers Centre).
ROOKIE RAKING: Logan O’Hoppe has driven in the Angelsfirst run of the game in four of his five starts this season…His eight RBI this season are an Angels rookie record through the team’s first six games of a season…He was the first player to have an RBI in each of the Angels first three games of a season since Mike Trout in 2017…Before Trout, it last happened in 2007 by both Vladimir Guerrero and Casey Kotchman.
CANNING ON REHAB: Last night, RHP Griffin Canning made a rehab start for Low-A Inland Empire…He struck out 10 across 5.0 innings of work and allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits with two walks.
THE 11 SPOT: Saturday afternoon at Oakland, the Angels plated 11 runs in the top of the third inning, marking the Halos highest scoring frame since July 2, 2016 (11 runs in the 7th inning at Boston)…It was the sixth 11+ run inning in franchise history.
A UNIQUE SAVE: Saturday at Oakland, Tucker Davidson earned his first career save after tossing 4.0 scoreless frames to finish off the Angels 13-1 win over the A’s…The 12-run victory marked the largest run differential in a save for an Angels pitcher since Chris Bootcheck (4 IP) in a 14-1 win vs. Royals on May 28. 2005.
BABY BACKSTOP: With his start last Thursday, Logan O’Hoppe (23 years, 49 days) became the youngest Opening Day catcher in Angels history (previous was Buck Rodgers – 23 years, 237 days in 1962)…He was the first Angels rookie catcher to start on Opening Day since Bengie Molina in 2000.
WELCOME TO THE RENAISSANCE: With Anthony Rendon, Hunter Renfroe & Luis Rengifo hitting 4-6 in the Angels Opening Day batting order, it was the first lineup in franchise history to feature three straight players who have the same first three letters of their last name…The last MLB occurrence was by Detroit on July 20, 2015 (Victor Martinez, J.D. Martinez, Jefry Marte).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – LHP PATRICK SANDOVAL
• TODAY’S GAME: Making second start of the season and first at home…Second time starting Angels Home Opener (also, 2020 vs. Seattle)…Is in fifth Major League season with Angels…Made third Opening Day roster (also, 2020 & 2022).
• VS. TORONTO: Has made one previous appearance vs. Blue Jays on May 29, 2022 at Angel Stadium (ND; 3 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO); the six runs allowed were a season high and tied career high (also, alowed six runs on July 18, 2021 vs. Seattle).
• AT ANGEL STADIUM: In 32 career games (28 starts) at The Big A, is 4-13 with a 3.66 ERA (157.1 IP – 64 ER)… Last year, was 3-4 with a 3.31 ERA (70.2 IP – 26 ER) in 13 home starts…Has allowed three-or-fewer runs in 23 of 28 career home starts.
• LAST TIME OUT: Earned win in season debut on April 1 at Oakland after tossing 5.0 innings and allowing one earned run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts…Only run came on a solo homer by Ramon Laureano in the 5th inning.
• WINNING STREAK: Dating back to last season, has won three straight decisions, which is longest streak of career.
• SANDY IN THE WBC: Made two starts in the 2023 World Baseball Classic for Mexico, going 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA (7.1 IP – 1 ER) and eight strikeouts…The two starts came against the United States (W; 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO) & Japan (ND; 4.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO).
• LEFT IN THE PARK: Has not allowed a home run to a left-handed batter since Aug. 13, 2021 (Kyle Tucker, HOU)…Allowed just eight total home runs last season (all to right-handed batters)…Held opponents homerless through first nine starts of 2022 was the longest streak to begin a season in Angels history and longest overall streak for LAA since John Lackey had a nine game streak in 2005.
• 2022 RECAP: Made 27 starts for Angels last year, going 6-9 with a 2.91 ERA (148.2 IP – 48 ER) and 151 strikeouts…Led A.L. (min. 100 IP) with a 0.48 HR/9 innings rate, allowing just eight home runs on the year… In final 11 starts of the year, pitched to a 1.95 ERA (64.2 IP – 14 ER) and 60 strikeouts.
• WHIFF OF CHANGE: Generated a 44.5% whiff rate on his changeup last season, which was the second-highest rate for any pitch in the Majors (min. 175 PA); trailed only Framber Valdez’s curveball (45.4%)…Opponents batted .215 (35/163) this season against his changeup with 73 strikeouts.
• MOTOWN SHUTOUT: Recorded first career complete game and first career shutout on Aug. 19, 2022 at Detroit…He allowed just four hits while striking out nine, walking none and facing just one batter over the minimum across just 97 pitches (73 strikes).
• GOOD NIGHT: Last season, was 4-4 with a 2.50 ERA (72 IP – 20 ER) with 75 strikeouts in his 13 night starts, compared with a 2-5 record and 3.29 ERA (76.2 IP – 28 ER) in his 14 day games…His 14 day game starts ranked T-4th in the American League.
• NEAR RECORD STREAK: In 2022, compiled the fourth longest streak without an earned run (15.0 IP) by a starting pitcher to begin a season in Angels history…Came up 4.0 innings shy of Club record 19.0 IP by Nolan Ryan (1978) and Ken McBride (1962). (ELIAS)
• NEAR NO-NO: On July 24, 2021 at Minnesota, came within two outs of tossing a no-hitter before allowing a one out double to Brent Rooker in the 9th inning…Set career highs with 8.2 innings pitched and 13 strikeouts in the game (W; 8.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 SO)…Marked first time an Angels no-hit bid was broken up in the 9th inning since John Lackey (8.1 IP) on July 29, 2008 at Boston.
• CAREER NOTES: Originally drafted by Houston in 11th round of 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Mission Viejo HS (CA), which is located just 20 miles from Angel Stadium…Acquired by Angels on July 26, 2018 in exchange for C Martin Maldonado.
