The Los Angeles Angels will host the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday night in Anaheim, Calif., in a battle of two teams struggling to score runs.
The Blue Jays are hoping that Bo Bichette has had a breakthrough, with his home run on Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians ending a homerless stretch for the shortstop that lasted 256 at-bats (and 63 games), dating back to May 27 of last year.
Bichette was limited to 81 games last season because of injuries to his calf and hand, which contributed to his power drought. Now that he’s healthy again, the Blue Jays are counting on Bichette to return to the form that saw him hit a career-high 29 homers in 2021.
Overall, the Blue Jays are showing signs of breaking out of a teamwide offensive slump, but they still have hit just 23 home runs all season, the lowest in the majors. And their 120 total runs scored ranks tied for third-worst in the American League — only better than the Texas Rangers and Angels.
“I like our at-bats recently,” Bichette said, adding that “we’re capable of so much more.
“So, I mean, we definitely got to be better. There’s a fine line of being patient, waiting for it, and, you know, doing something about it. So it’s not always that easy, but we have the ability to be a really good offense. And I think we’re showing that a little bit.”
Bichette’s lack of power so far this season doesn’t mean he hasn’t hit well at times. He’s batting .288 with a .706 OPS and 11 doubles.
“In the past when I’ve not felt my best, it’s been really bad, but I think I’ve been able to do some good things throughout the year so far,” Bichette said. “Yeah, I just hope I can get in a groove soon. It’s kind of how the season goes.”
As of Monday afternoon, the Blue Jays had not announced a starting pitcher for Tuesday’s game.
Left-hander Tyler Anderson (2-0, 2.67 ERA) will start on the mound for the Angels, coming off three consecutive quality starts during which he’s held opposing hitters to a .191 batting average. However, he is 0-3 with a 5.53 ERA in five career starts against Toronto.
The Angels’ offensive woes are a major part of their problems that have resulted in 10 losses in their last 12 games. Their total of 232 hits is the lowest in the majors while the team’s .214 batting average ranks as the lowest in the American League.
The blame game has started, but it seems the fingers are pointing more toward the players than manager Ron Washington and his coaching staff.
“When it’s your veteran players who have been in the league for a long time … they have basically established themselves in a certain way,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said.
“A lot of veteran players are their own hitting coaches. Now, if we had a group of young guys that were all struggling, totally different. The young guys have actually played better than our veteran players to a certain extent, statistically.”
Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who is tied for the team lead with nine home runs, said that blame should not be given to hitting coach Johnny Washington or assistants Tim Laker and Jayson Nix.
“It’s no one else but (the players),” O’Hoppe said. “I think that’s part of the frustration of it, too. The blame is getting put on the wrong people.”
–Field Level Media
