Toronto Blue Jays win third straight, lead AL East
By Todd Salem
The Toronto Blue Jays are finally starting to show that promise they displayed at the beginning of LAST season. With a third straight win, Toronto swept the division-rival Boston Red Sox and have won eight of their past 10 ballgames.
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They are also in sole possession of first place in the American League East.
With the only positive run differential in the division for a while now, this seemed like only a matter of time before Toronto overtook the Yankees. While New York is 24-22, it has a run differential of minus-12, indicating the team may be trending downwards in the near future. On the other hand, Toronto’s season differential is now up to plus-17, by far the best in the East. Its 26-22 record now also outpaces the rest of the division.
The mini-run the Blue Jays are on has been thanks in large part to the hitting of Edwin Encarnacion and the pitching of Mark Buerhle. The two veterans are having incredible starts to their seasons. Encarnacion, who started off April very slowly, has kicked everything up a notch, launching seven home runs in his last seven games alone, bringing his season total to 13 bombs.
And Buerhle has already won eight games this season. His 8-1 record and 2.16 ERA both lead the club and set him as the pace car for the AL Cy Young award as well.