The Toronto Blue Jays have spent three full weeks as baseball vagabonds. They finally got a reprieve Sunday night when they landed in Buffalo. Now it's time to make Sahlen Field feel like home.
With ace Hyun-Jin Ryu and megaprospect Nate Pearson slated to be the starting pitchers for their first two games in Buffalo, the Jays are hoping a consistent home base can help them bounce back from a tough start to their season.
The Blue Jays are 5-8 and suffered their third walkoff loss Sunday, a 5-3 defeat to the Boston Red Sox on Mitch Moreland's two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth at Fenway Park.
“We’ve showed up to the ballpark every day ready to play. We haven’t really complained at all, given the circumstances," second baseman Cavan Biggio, one of 18 former Bisons on the Toronto roster, said on a Zoom call during the three-game set in Boston. "It will be nice to go to Buffalo and set up shop and not have to carry around all your stuff on road trips. We’re ready to play every day, and when we get to Buffalo, we’ll adjust from there.”
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Ryu will start Tuesday night's game against the Miami Marlins, a contest the Jays are dubbing their "Home Away from Home Opener." The fireballing Pearson will go on Wednesday. Both games are scheduled for 6:37 p.m. first pitches.
The Jays are off Monday but manager Charlie Montoyo said the team may go to the ballpark Monday night to check out the new lighting and clubhouse arrangements that are part of a multi-million dollar renovation to house Toronto's 27 remaining home games.
"We lost on three walkoffs. We've been in every game, against teams that won 90 games last year and we've been this close," Montoyo said after Sunday's defeat. "We've been competing every day. Now the toughest thing as a team is that next jump."
Ryu, who signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Blue Jays in December, is 1-1 with a 5.14 earned run average in his first three starts with his new team. The 33-year-old finished second in the National League Cy Young Award voting last season after going 14-5 with an NL-leading 2.32 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"A lot of my teammates told me the stadium is actually nicer than what a lot of people say," Ryu said through an interpreter when asked about Sahlen Field on a separate Zoom call Sunday. "Although it's an off day, I will be at the stadium to look at the mound and get a good feel for it."
The Jays have purposely set up their rotation this season to have the softer-tossing Ryu, a lefty, followed by the hard-throwing Pearson, who can consistently push 99 mph on the radar gun from the right side.
Pearson, 23, has no decisions in his first two starts with a 2.70 ERA. He has 10 strikeouts and five walks in 10 innings. The 2017 first-round pick has rocketed through the Jays' system and went 1-0, 3.00 in three starts for the Bisons last season, striking out 15 and walking just three in Triple-A.
"He's fun to watch," Ryu said. "Everyone knows he overpowers hitters with his 'velo' (velocity) but the underestimated part of his game is his command. His fastball and secondary pitch command is really good and I enjoy watching him."
The Jays' opening homestand is a five-gamer, with two against Miami followed by a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays that begins Friday night. As in all MLB parks this season, no fans are permitted.
"I’ve seen a little bit behind the scenes where they’ve turned our (batting) cages into an extended locker room and moved the cages up to the concourse," Biggio said. "But besides that, I know they’ve been working really hard to get it ready for MLB play, the lights, the field and whatnot. I have all the confidence in the world that it’s not really going to be an issue.”
Work continues to get Sahlen Field ready for Major League Baseball
Crews continued their work Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, to prepare Sahlen Field for the Toronto Blue Jays series against the Miami Marlins Aug. 11.
Workers prepare the grass in right field at Sahlen Field on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020.
The Blue Jays are batting just .218 as a team and have scored an AL-low 39 runs in 13 games. They're batting an MLB-low .195 with runners in scoring position. The struggling offense has wasted quality pitching, as the team ERA of 3.79 is fifth in the AL.
Biggio, who tied for the team lead with his fourth home run Sunday, is batting just .192. Fellow former Bisons Rowdy Tellez (.143), Danny Jansen (.138) and Reese McGuire (.133) also have endured terrible starts. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is at .240 with just one home run.
"Our pitching has been outstanding. Now it comes to the hitters having better at-bats, getting big hits," Montoyo said. "... We haven't played in Buffalo so it's still a road trip. I'm going to say after the first couple of games, it kind of becomes our home ballpark."
Major League Baseball is coming to Sahlen Field, but significant work had to be done before the Blue Jays can play here. Here are the major upgrades made to get Sahlen Field ready for the big leagues.
