3 amazing stats from the Blue Jays' dominant streak
The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Oakland Athletics 10-3 on Wednesday - their 10th win in a row. Thanks to a New York Yankees loss, the Blue Jays claimed first place in the American League East.
Here's a look at three reasons why the Blue Jays have been so dominant across their current 10-game winning streak:
Stingy pitching
Blue Jays starters have gone 16 straight games allowing three earned runs or fewer, which is their longest streak since May 5-25 of 1991. The team record is 18 games.
Across the 16-game stretch, Blue Jays starters have combined to allow just 20 earned runs and 53 hits across 78 1/3 innings pitched, striking out 58 batters in the process.
| Date | Starter | IP | H | ER | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31 | Hutchison | 5 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Aug 1 | Buehrle | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Aug 2 | Dickey | 7 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Aug 3 | Price | 8 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| Aug 4 | Estrada | 6.2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Aug 5 | Hutchison | 5 | 7 | 3 | 5 |
| Aug 6 | Buehrle | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Aug 7 | Dickey | 7 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| Aug 8 | Price | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Aug 9 | Estrada | 6.1 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Aug 11 | Hutchison | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Aug 12 | Dickey | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
Unfamiliar territory
Wednesday's win marks the first time in 7,983 days Toronto has been in first place in the AL East this late in a season since Oct. 3, 1993, the year they last won the World Series.
| Year | Record on Aug 13 | Win % | Longest Win Streak |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 66-51 | .564 | 9 games |
| 2015 | 63-52 | .548 | 11 games |
The Blue Jays, who sat six games back of the Yankees on July 30, are also undefeated (13-0) with recently acquired shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in the starting lineup.
MVP candidate Josh Donaldson is hitting .324 with five home runs over the last 10 games, while Jose Bautista (.292, four home runs) and Edwin Encarnacion (.384, two home runs) have also been red-hot during the streak.
Magic Number 10
Toronto is the first AL team with multiple 10-game winning streaks in the same season since the Kansas City Royals accomplished the feat in 1977.
The Blue Jays had an 11-game winning streak earlier this season, from June 2-14, that featured series sweeps of the Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Miami Marlins, and Boston Red Sox.
On their current 10-game streak they've taken down division leaders in the Royals and Yankees, as well as the Minnesota Twins, and most recently the Athletics.
The Blue Jays have outscored their competition 55-20 across the streak, and lead the majors in wins (18), home runs (41), and slugging (.463) since the All-Star break.
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