Call to the pen
Fansided

3 American League teams facing a make-or-break June

By Scott Roche

May 21, 2023; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto (9) gets a high five from Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) after defeating the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
May 21, 2023; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto (9) gets a high five from Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) after defeating the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Toronto Blue Jays, Bo Bichette
May 30, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette (11) throws to first for the final out against the Milwaukee Brewers during the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Toronto Blue Jays

Last season, the Toronto Blue Jays made the playoffs as a wild card, but dropped their best two out of three series at home to the Seattle Mariners. It was disappointing, but it was thought of as the beginning of a run that Canada’s only MLB team was going to make to October baseball.

A young team full of offensive talent up and down their lineup and a pitching staff that made strides in 2022, it has been the first two months of the 2023 season the Blue Jays and their fans hoped it would be. The Tampa Bay Rays are the division’s measuring stick, while the Baltimore Orioles continue to prove that they are on the up and up.

Then there’s Toronto. Stuck in fourth place behind the Rays, Orioles, and New York Yankees, they have been getting enough offense to win games, but until their weekend stop in New York over the weekend where they swept the Mets, pitching has been their biggest question mark. Alek Manoah is not having anywhere the season he had last season and they need more of him.

Offensively, they are going to score runs with a lineup that can be a nightmare for opposing pitchers with George Springer, Bo Bichette, Vlaadamir Guerrero, Jr., and Matt Chapman leading the way. Chasing the Rays, Orioles and Yankees are not what the Blue Jays want to do all summer long.

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