Chapman returns to Auckland in the basement

The Toronto Blue Jays will begin their first West Coast trip of the season in a three-game series with MLB’s worst team, Oakland A.

The atmosphere of the park is very different from the Rogers Center in the last eight games between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays.

The game remains important to the Blue Jays, who are in the midst of a tough wildcard race, regardless of their opponents. Conversely, A goes into full rebuild mode after trading off some of the best players during the off-season.

The Blue Jays will reach the midpoint of the season after the match on Monday.

Take a look at the series for Auckland.

Potential pitcher

Monday, 9:07 pm ET / 6:07 pm PT: Toronto RHP Alexandra Noah (9-2, 2.09 ERA) vs Oakland LHP Cole Irvin (2-6, 3.58 ERA)

TTuesday, 9:07 pm ET / 6:07 pm PT: Toronto LHP Yusei Kikuchi (3-4, 4.74 ERA) vs Oakland RHP Adrian Martinez (1-1, 6.30 ERA)

Wednsdsay, 3:37 pm ET / 12:37 pm PT: Toronto RHP Jose Berríos (6-4, 5.72 ERA) vs. Auckland RHP James Berrírian (1-5, 5.43 ERA)

–All Sportsnet games

The latest information on the Blue Jays

The major homestand that started with the promise was disappointed as Toronto (44-36) lost the last three games against Rays and ended up 4-4 in eight games in seven days at Rogers Center.

Pitching is a big problem for the Blue Jays, and when they lose to Tampa three times, the lack of depth is imminent.

The bullpen simply lacks the swing-and-miss arm, and overuse and injuries have forced men into the role of leverage.

The struggling Trent Thornton is a perfect example of a 4-1 deficit turned into a 7-1 hole by giving up two home runs in the fifth inning after replacing the Ross Stripling on Sunday.

The Blue Jays are second in the wildcard race. Three teams will win wildcards this year. The Red Sox is a half-game ahead of the Blue Jays, and Toronto is a half-game up with Tampa.

The latest information on A

It may seem good for A (26-55) to return home after a 10-game road trip, but the team is actually better off on the road (18-27) in Auckland (8-28). This season.

A lost 3 out of 4 to the Seattle Mariners and was 3-7 on the roadswing.

In both of the last two games, A continued to struggle aggressively and lost 2-1 (team average .211 was the last major).

Last year’s Cy Young Award-winning former Blue Jays ace Robbie Ray set a record 12 of the season on Sunday as Auckland lost 25 times in 31 games.

Frankie Montas, A’s starter, gave up on Julio Rodriguez’s home run on the first pitch and was sent off after 13 pitches.

Chapman’s homecoming

Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman will play in Auckland for the first time since A traded him to Toronto for four prospects in March.

Chapman, the first round of A in 2014 (25th overall), won three Gold Glove Awards and became an All-Star in Auckland in 2019.

After a slow start with this year’s bat, Chapman picked things up. But he is currently in a 0 to 13 skid.

His attacks are up and down, but Chapman has provided Toronto with great defense.

Jaze misses A’s ace

Jaze catches a break in not facing A’s right-handed Paul Blackburn (6-3, 2.90 ERA).

Blackburn is a strong candidate to represent Auckland in the All-Star game.

At his recent start in Seattle on Saturday, he didn’t give up the run with four hits in 6.1 innings.

The Blue Jays won Ace Manoa in the series opener on Monday and will make a lucrative pitching match with 0-5 Irvine in eight starts after returning from the injured list in May.

Oakland follows Martinez, the man who made only two major starts, and Caprilian, the pitcher who won his first victory of the season on Friday.

Season series

The Blue Jays won two out of three against A in Toronto in April.

Manoa gave up two runs with four hits in six innings to win the Series Finale.

Hyun-jin Ryu (participating this season) and Ross Stripling, other Toronto starters that weekend, will not pitch in Auckland.

A real good news

A was backed off the field last week when a California agency resolved to approve the team’s plans to continue the $ 12 billion waterfront stadium project.

A needs a new stadium where the aging RingCentral Coliseum lease will expire after the 2024 season.

Oakland has recently lost the NFL Raiders and NBA Warriors to Las Vegas and San Francisco, respectively.

A said he would consider relocating to Las Vegas, home of the Triple A team, if the stadium plan was not approved.

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Thousands of Canadians are expected to support the Seattle Blue Jays during the four game series starting Thursday.

This is the first time most West Coast Canadians have seen Jays in Seattle since 2019, before the pandemic.

Also, Ray is likely to face the Blue Jays for the first time since signing the Mariners in the off-season after strangely not traveling to Toronto in May. The Mariners provided no reason for his absence, and fans wondered if it had anything to do with his preventive contact situation.

–Use files from AP