Donaldson seems poised to carry Blue Jays on his back
TORONTO — It’s been a pretty bleak and chilly summer so far in Toronto.
And the weather hasn’t been great either.
By far the biggest disappointment in these parts has been the performance of that professional sports concern which plays out of the Rogers Centre (when you already know the traffic is going to be horrific and the subway is going to break down regularly, there’s no disappointment involved).
The Blue Jays sit mired in last place in the AL East, 111/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox and five games behind in the wild card race following Wednesday’s night’s 11-5 loss to the New York Yankees at the Rogers Centre but with six teams to pass.
But at least one player is heating up, and it’s the player the Jays need to heat up to have any chance of doing anything this year. Josh Donaldson, the 2015 AL MVP, has recorded 11 extra base hits (five doubles, six homers) over his past 20 games and is first in the AL with 27 walks — three of those coming on Wednesday — since July 1. He is hitting .342 with runners in scoring position over his past 32 games. In the Jays’ 4-2 victory over the Yankees on Tuesday, the Bringer of Rain hit two home runs, the 12th multi-homer game of his career and second this season. Eighty-five of his 156 career homer runs have either tied the game or given the team a lead. Donaldson seems ready to carry his club on his back, and they need that. Toronto manager John Gibbons is certainly expecting his third baseman to rise to the occasion as the season heads into the dog days.
