<img alt="Toronto Blue Jays v Boston Red Sox - Game One" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/v3Se2s2HwpV8FPOdKSJE9dP_VzA=/0x0:3284x2189/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73568152/2168804455.0.jpg">
Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images
Toronto might be in last place but they’ve still got some heavy hitters and solid hurlers for Atlanta to deal with this weekend. The Atlanta Braves area heading into this series with the Toronto Blue Jays having missed out on a big opportunity to pick up a sweep against a Rockies squad that is already looking forward to 2025. While that’s obviously the case for the Blue Jays as well based on who has been getting the vast majority of playing time for them lately, this isn’t your usual last-place team.
While the Jays started off this month taking three straight losses, they did finish August with a 16-12 record — their best month of the season so far. They’ve been a .500 team since the All-Star break and their offense has been doing great since the break as well. The Blue Jays as a team have been hitting .254/.320/.44 with a collective .327 wOBA and a team wRC+ of 115 since the break. A lot of this has to do with guys like Daulton Varsho and Addison Barger delivering consistently good performances at the plate during that period but that also has a lot to do with the fact that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has gone into supernova mode in the second half.
He’s been hitting at an astonishing .419/.489/.813 clip, with a .532 wOBA and 257 wRC+ since the break. He has the highest wRC+ in baseball since the break, which is really saying something considering how Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. have been going. Atlanta’s pitching staff has been excellent this season but they’re going to have a stern test on their hands when it comes to keeping Vladito and this Blue Jays lineup quiet.
Friday, September 6, 7:20 pm E.T., Bally Sports Southeast
LHP Max Fried (24 GS, 140 IP, 117 ERA-, 108 FIP-, 22.4 K%, 8.6 BB%)
Fried is heading into this start with against the Blue Jays having given up at least three runs in six of his past eight starts. In fact, he’s given up at least five runs in four of those starts. Now granted, he hasn’t given up five in a start since his Coors Field outing on August 10 but it’s still been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. In that eight-start span, Fried has been sporting a 115 ERA- and a 106 FIP- with a 23.5 percent strikeout rate but a 10.2 percent walk rate. With this resurgent Blue Jays lineup coming to town, it’ll be massive if Fried can reach back and find his A-game for this start in particular.
RHP Kevin Gausman (27 GS, 157 IP, 101 ERA-, 95 FIP-, 22 K%, 7.1 BB%)
Our old friend Kevin Gausman is back in town and he’s also been riding the rollercoaster in recent times. On August 13, Gaustman pitched seven shutout innings in Anaheim to help the Blue Jays pick up a win. He followed that up six days later by getting dinged for four runs over five innings against the Reds. He then beat down on the Angels again by pitching seven innings and while only giving up one run and striking out 10. However, he followed that up by giving up two runs and walking four as he threw 5.2 innings in what turned into a loss to the Twins. While the walks may be a bit uncharacteristic, the inconsistency has been there all season. If the Braves catch him on a bad day then this could be a productive night for the home team.
Saturday, September 7, 7:20 pm E.T., Bally Sports Southeast
RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (16 GS, 92.2 IP, 88 ERA-, 78 FIP-, 27.6 K%, 5.0 BB%)
Schwellenbach has continued to establish himself as one of the top rookie pitchers in baseball this season. Even though his last start ended in controversy due to a decision to keep him in the game a bit longer than he needed to be in there, you still can’t really complain about making it into the sixth inning and only giving up two runs while only walking one batter at Citizens Bank Park. Schwellenbach will now be looking to get it done at home, as he’s actually seen better results on the road (3.53 ERA, 2.48 FIP) than at home (3.89 ERA, 3.91 FIP).
LHP José Berríos (28 GS, 170.1 IP, 89 ERA-, 116 FIP-, 19.3 K%, 6.8 BB%)
It’s been a tale of two different halves for the Blue Jays and that’s definitely been the case for José Berríos this season. In the first half, Berríos made 20 starts and ended up with a 99 ERA- and a 125 FIP-. Ever since the break, however, Berrios has been sporting a 65 ERA- and a 97 FIP- and he’ll be entering into this game having pitched six shutout innings against the Twins back on August 31. He’s had three instances since the All-Star break of going seven innings and giving up just one run, so he’s definitely been locked in since the break. I would not be shocked if we see yet another pitcher’s duel this Saturday night.
Sunday, September 8, 1:35 pm E.T., Bally Sports Southeast
LHP Chris Sale (26 GS, 160.2 IP, 59 ERA-, 51 FIP-, 32.4 K%, 5.4 BB%)
We here at Battery Power are going to break the record for the number of times that you can say “What more can you say?” about Chris Sale. Seriously though, what more can you say about this guy? He’s going to win the NL Cy Young Award, he’s likely going to get votes for NL MVP and he’ll be facing a Blue Jays franchise that he’s historically had a decent aount of success against. Sale has been making it happen for the Braves here in the stretch run, even if he hasn’t had his A-game on any given night and I would be shocked if he didn’t lock in for a game that the Braves are very likely going to need.
RHP Yariel Rodríguez (17 GS, 68.1 IP, 114 ERA-, 108 FIP-, 23.4 K%, 11.2 BB%)
The good news for Rodríguez is that he had a scoreless outing in his most recent appearance. The bad news is that he only made it three innings in that start and this was after he gave up six runs against the Red Sox on August 27, five runs against the Reds on August 21 and four runs against the Cubs on August 16. While Rodríguez certainly has some good offspeed stuff and he’s done a good job of avoiding getting barreled up over the course of this season, it’s very obvious that he’s heading into this game in a bit of a vulnerable position. With that being said, this Braves lineup has proven to be the tonic to cure some pitchers from time to time so it’s not like it’s a guarantee that the Braves are going to show up and show out against this guy.
<img alt="Toronto Blue Jays v Boston Red Sox - Game One" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/v3Se2s2HwpV8FPOdKSJE9dP_VzA=/0x0:3284x2189/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73568152/2168804455.0.jpg">
Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images
Toronto might be in last place but they’ve still got some heavy hitters and solid hurlers for Atlanta to deal with this weekend. The Atlanta Braves area heading into this series with the Toronto Blue Jays having missed out on a big opportunity to pick up a sweep against a Rockies squad that is already looking forward to 2025. While that’s obviously the case for the Blue Jays as well based on who has been getting the vast majority of playing time for them lately, this isn’t your usual last-place team.
While the Jays started off this month taking three straight losses, they did finish August with a 16-12 record — their best month of the season so far. They’ve been a .500 team since the All-Star break and their offense has been doing great since the break as well. The Blue Jays as a team have been hitting .254/.320/.44 with a collective .327 wOBA and a team wRC+ of 115 since the break. A lot of this has to do with guys like Daulton Varsho and Addison Barger delivering consistently good performances at the plate during that period but that also has a lot to do with the fact that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has gone into supernova mode in the second half.
He’s been hitting at an astonishing .419/.489/.813 clip, with a .532 wOBA and 257 wRC+ since the break. He has the highest wRC+ in baseball since the break, which is really saying something considering how Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. have been going. Atlanta’s pitching staff has been excellent this season but they’re going to have a stern test on their hands when it comes to keeping Vladito and this Blue Jays lineup quiet.
Friday, September 6, 7:20 pm E.T., Bally Sports Southeast
LHP Max Fried (24 GS, 140 IP, 117 ERA-, 108 FIP-, 22.4 K%, 8.6 BB%)
Fried is heading into this start with against the Blue Jays having given up at least three runs in six of his past eight starts. In fact, he’s given up at least five runs in four of those starts. Now granted, he hasn’t given up five in a start since his Coors Field outing on August 10 but it’s still been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. In that eight-start span, Fried has been sporting a 115 ERA- and a 106 FIP- with a 23.5 percent strikeout rate but a 10.2 percent walk rate. With this resurgent Blue Jays lineup coming to town, it’ll be massive if Fried can reach back and find his A-game for this start in particular.
RHP Kevin Gausman (27 GS, 157 IP, 101 ERA-, 95 FIP-, 22 K%, 7.1 BB%)
Our old friend Kevin Gausman is back in town and he’s also been riding the rollercoaster in recent times. On August 13, Gaustman pitched seven shutout innings in Anaheim to help the Blue Jays pick up a win. He followed that up six days later by getting dinged for four runs over five innings against the Reds. He then beat down on the Angels again by pitching seven innings and while only giving up one run and striking out 10. However, he followed that up by giving up two runs and walking four as he threw 5.2 innings in what turned into a loss to the Twins. While the walks may be a bit uncharacteristic, the inconsistency has been there all season. If the Braves catch him on a bad day then this could be a productive night for the home team.
Saturday, September 7, 7:20 pm E.T., Bally Sports Southeast
RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (16 GS, 92.2 IP, 88 ERA-, 78 FIP-, 27.6 K%, 5.0 BB%)
Schwellenbach has continued to establish himself as one of the top rookie pitchers in baseball this season. Even though his last start ended in controversy due to a decision to keep him in the game a bit longer than he needed to be in there, you still can’t really complain about making it into the sixth inning and only giving up two runs while only walking one batter at Citizens Bank Park. Schwellenbach will now be looking to get it done at home, as he’s actually seen better results on the road (3.53 ERA, 2.48 FIP) than at home (3.89 ERA, 3.91 FIP).
LHP José Berríos (28 GS, 170.1 IP, 89 ERA-, 116 FIP-, 19.3 K%, 6.8 BB%)
It’s been a tale of two different halves for the Blue Jays and that’s definitely been the case for José Berríos this season. In the first half, Berríos made 20 starts and ended up with a 99 ERA- and a 125 FIP-. Ever since the break, however, Berrios has been sporting a 65 ERA- and a 97 FIP- and he’ll be entering into this game having pitched six shutout innings against the Twins back on August 31. He’s had three instances since the All-Star break of going seven innings and giving up just one run, so he’s definitely been locked in since the break. I would not be shocked if we see yet another pitcher’s duel this Saturday night.
Sunday, September 8, 1:35 pm E.T., Bally Sports Southeast
LHP Chris Sale (26 GS, 160.2 IP, 59 ERA-, 51 FIP-, 32.4 K%, 5.4 BB%)
We here at Battery Power are going to break the record for the number of times that you can say “What more can you say?” about Chris Sale. Seriously though, what more can you say about this guy? He’s going to win the NL Cy Young Award, he’s likely going to get votes for NL MVP and he’ll be facing a Blue Jays franchise that he’s historically had a decent aount of success against. Sale has been making it happen for the Braves here in the stretch run, even if he hasn’t had his A-game on any given night and I would be shocked if he didn’t lock in for a game that the Braves are very likely going to need.
RHP Yariel Rodríguez (17 GS, 68.1 IP, 114 ERA-, 108 FIP-, 23.4 K%, 11.2 BB%)
The good news for Rodríguez is that he had a scoreless outing in his most recent appearance. The bad news is that he only made it three innings in that start and this was after he gave up six runs against the Red Sox on August 27, five runs against the Reds on August 21 and four runs against the Cubs on August 16. While Rodríguez certainly has some good offspeed stuff and he’s done a good job of avoiding getting barreled up over the course of this season, it’s very obvious that he’s heading into this game in a bit of a vulnerable position. With that being said, this Braves lineup has proven to be the tonic to cure some pitchers from time to time so it’s not like it’s a guarantee that the Braves are going to show up and show out against this guy.
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