Thursday bantering

So the first half of the season draws to a close and the Jays have a record of 29-52. That speaks for itself really.

They are now on pace to lose 104 games, just the fourth time in franchise history they would reach triple-digit defeats.

Of course each of those previous 100-plus losses came in the club’s first three years of existence (1977 through 1979).

The latest loss dropped them to a season-worst 23 games below .500 and a horrible 23.5 games behind the Yankees.

Despite the losses, there have been some encouraging signs:

• Danny Jansen’s solo homer in the second yesterday was the 34th homer by a Jays rookie: tops in MLB and a club record for homers prior to the all-star break.
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr hit two more homers yesterday and he now has giving him 12 for the season. And he has certainly been putting it together since returning from the minors; he is hitting .347 in 31 games since returning to the big leagues on May 24. Oh and he has 6 outfield assists too.
• And it was a good road trip for ‘Caveman’ Biggio, who was 3-for-4 in the finale and had an average of .381 in his past five games.
• The Jays have hit 24 home runs in their past 11 games.

Less than encouraging is that a number of the team have had some bad at bats.

How bad? The following are on pace to top 120 strikeouts on the season: Randal Grichuk, Teoscar Hernandez, Brandon Drury, Rowdy Tellez and Freddy Galvis.

Other Jays bits

Demoted Blue Jays have learned a step back might be a step in the right direction

Another loss to the Yankees is a another learning experience for Trent Thornton

The Jays are closing in on a deal with Canadian outfielder Dasan Brown, their third round pick.

The Vancouver Canadians’ right-hander Grant Townsend is pushing restart as a starter.

Fellow Canadians’ pitcher Luke Gillingham is back in pro ball, after 2 years away in the US Navy.

Herd get trampled

The Bisons (riding a season-high 7 game winning streak and winners of 15 of their last 18 games) got hosed 10-1 by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Bo Bichette reached base three times, going 2-3 with a walk and stolen base. In his last four games, he has had 10 hits in 16 at-bats, good for a .625 average. He has also hit .378 (17-45) with 10 RBI in 11 games since returning to the Buffalo lineup after suffering a broken hand on April 22nd.

MLB bits

You think our pitching is bad? Think again! The Orioles staff have allowed 165 home runs through 80 games. They’re on pace to allow 334 home runs.

There is more horrifying and hilarious data at ‘Death, taxes and Orioles pitchers being taken deep’

Unsurprisingly, it’s hard to take the Rays tale of two cities seriously.

Play of the Day

Jarrod Dyson and Tim Locastro decide they should both have it