3 Storylines to Follow in Blue Jays' Weekend Series vs. Rays

There are plenty of interesting angles for this important series at Tropicana Field.

The Blue Jays (17-15, third in AL East) head to St. Petersburg, Fla., Friday to face the Rays (19-13, second in AL East) for a divisional showdown.

The probable pitching matchups are as follows:

Friday – Kevin Gausman vs. Drew Rasmussen

Saturday – Hyun Jin Ryu vs. Ryan Yarbrough

Sunday – Alek Manoah vs. Corey Kluber

Here are a few storylines to follow during this three-game series.

The RISP battle

Toronto’s inability to deliver with runners in scoring position will be a talking point until the Jays prove otherwise. No team has a worse batting average in that situation than the Blue Jays (.181), and their OPS (.561) is second worst only to the Royals.

The Rays, on the other hand, rank 13th in MLB with a .739 OPS with RISP. The line is equalized, though, in clutch, two-out situations—Toronto and Tampa Bay boast similarly poor two-out, RISP OPS percentages at .591 and .592, respectively. Those unique spots could be turning points in the series.

With matchups against Tampa starters Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Yarbrough, and Corey Kluber, the Blue Jays have a window to score early and often, because once the game turns to a battle of the bullpens, things even out for both teams.

What to do with Ryu

Left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu is expected to return from the injured list and start Saturday after missing nearly a month with forearm inflammation. An up-and-down rehab outing in Triple A a week ago didn’t do much to ease the concern with Ryu, who was torched in his first two starts of the season, leaving him with a 13.50 ERA and a 91.7-mph average exit velocity allowed.

Historically, the 35-year-old has thrived against the Rays (a 2.70 ERA in four starts), so it’s a tidy bit of matchmaking by the Blue Jays to slide him into a situation they believe he can succeed in. Ryu will be without personal catcher Danny Jansen, who’s rehabbing an oblique injury, but he will have swingman Ross Stripling to pitch behind him.

The Blue Jays have hinted Stripling is expected to “piggyback” off Ryu’s Saturday start, so it’ll be worth watching to see how Toronto uses the bullpen behind their starter. Overall, watch for fastball and changeup command with Ryu—those are his two keys to success.

How fired up is Manoah?

Alek Manoah was not pleased with his last start. The righty pitched five innings versus the Guardians, allowing two runs, walking one batter, and striking out just three. Afterwards, Manoah expressed some displeasure with the quality of the baseballs in Cleveland.

On Sunday, Manoah gets a Rays squad he’s dominated in his young career. Through four starts, Manoah’s 1.46 ERA and 13.1 K/9 are outstanding clips, which should give Blue Jays fans tons of confidence for their club’s chances of winning. The big man will be fired up, too. 

The 23-year-old tossed an especially flawless outing against Tampa on September 13 of last season, where he ran through eight shutout innings, allowed only one hit, and struck out 10. That pivotal start added fuel to the Blue Jays’ playoff push, and if Manoah can deliver anything close to that gem against the Rays this weekend, Toronto could feel a similar pick-me-up going forward.