10 Keys to the Toronto Blue Jays Winning the Second Wild-Card Spot

At 51-50 and three-and-a-half games out of the second wild-card spot, the Toronto Blue Jays remain legitimate players in the wild-card race despite being ravaged by the injury bug.  

Lost for the season are Sergio Santos, Luis Perez and Kyle Drabek, while Jesse Litsch and Dustin McGowan have yet to throw a pitch this season.  In addition, Brandon Morrow, Drew Hutchison, Jason Frasor, Jose Bautista and J.P Arencibia are currently on the disabled list.

It is quite a feat that they’re even within striking distance of the wild card given the number of injuries they have sustained. 

Here are 10 keys for the Jays capturing one of the two wild-card spots. 

10. Production from Adam Lind

Adam Lind is just a few years removed from hitting 35 home runs and driving in 114.  Last season he hit .251 with 26 homers and 87 RBI.

He was optioned to Triple-A on May 17 after hitting just .186 with three homers and 11 RBI in 34 games, but appears to have put his early-season struggles behind him. 

In 24 games since his call-up, he's batting .287 with five homers and 16 RBI.

He could be a major contributor down the stretch, as 96 of his 114 career home runs have come against right-handed pitching. 

9. Keep Losing Streaks to a Minimum

The Jays will experience their share of setbacks as the season carries on, but will need to avoid extended losing streaks. 

At this point they have lost three or more consecutive games on nine occasions.  A few more could be debilitating. 

8. Heat Up

The Jays have lingered around the .500 mark for much of the season and have yet to go on a significant run. 

Their best month so far came in May, where they went 15-13.  They were 12-11 in April, 13-14 in June and are 11-12 for this month as of July 29. 

They will need to pick up the pace in the next couple of months. 

7. Jose Bautista’s Return

Jose Bautista sat atop the American League with 27 home runs, and had a legitimate shot at becoming MLB’s home-run king for a third straight year prior to injuring his left wrist. 

The slugger injured himself July 16 after fouling a pitch off of New York Yankees’ flamethrower David Robertson. 

He is eligible to come off the disabled list on August 1, but will likely require a few additional days of rest before returning to full strength.

"I don't want to ever say no, but it still projects to be a few more days than Wednesday," said Blue Jays manager John Farrell via MLB.com.  "But [on Friday], I said it would be Monday by the time he started to swing -- and here he is already off a tee.  But he is making good progress."

If he can pick up where he left off, the Blue Jays could be playing meaningful games in September for the first time in almost 20 years. 

6. Take Care of Own Business

Perhaps there’s nothing more frustrating than falling short in your own games and then having to look to other clubs for help. 

Toronto will need to improve their record against their divisional rivals. 

They currently have a 15-19 record, which includes a combined 6-11 mark against Baltimore and Tampa—two teams they will need to pass to secure one of the two wild cards. 

With 61 games remaining, the Blue Jays have plenty of time to put themselves in a favorable position as they remain in control of their own destiny.    

5. Continued Excellence from Carlos Villanueva

Where would the Blue Jays be without Carlos Villanueva?  The right-hander has been terrific all season long and has gone 4-0 since joining the rotation on June 29.

Overall he is 6-0 on the season with a 2.92 ERA and has registered 65 strikeouts over 61.2 innings of work, while holding the opposition to a .213 average.

He has given the Jays a chance in each of his starts and the team has responded by going a perfect 5-0.

He will likely keep his spot in the rotation for the remainder of the season.

4. Activity at the Deadline

One thing that has become apparent in GM Alex Anthopoulous’ tenure with the Blue Jays is that he isn’t afraid to pull the trigger and make a trade. 

On July 20, he acquired pitchers J.A Happ, Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter in a 10-player deal with the Houston Astros for Francisco Cordero, Ben Francisco, four minor leaguers and a player to be named later. 

Just over a year ago he made two trades to acquire outfielder Colby Rasmus.  He first shipped Jason Frasor and Zach Stewart to the Chicago White Sox for Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen.

He then flipped Jackson along with Marc Rzepcynski, Octavio Dotal and Corey Patterson for Rasmus, Brian Tallet, P.J Walters and Trever Miller. 

The trade paid immediate dividends for the Cardinals as they went on to win the World Series, while the Blue Jays are now reaping the benefits of having Rasmus for a full season.  

For the season, the 25-year-old is batting .246 with 18 homers and 63 RBI. 

Will he strike again? 

3. Continued Production from the Offense

Offensively, the Jays sit atop the majors with 502 runs.  As of July 29, they are just 5-34 when held to three runs or less, but are an outstanding 46-16 when scoring four or more runs.

2. Need Ricky to Be Ricky

Ricky Romero has lost six straight games and his record now stands at 8-7 from an 8-1 start. 

He has just eight quality starts in 21 games and has gotten progressively worse in each month of the season.   

April:  3-0, 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, .193 BAA

May:  3-1, 4.82 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .228 BAA

June:  2-1, 7.33 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, .307 BAA

July:  0-5, 8.88 ERA, 2.09 WHIP, .352 BAA

Last season he was 15-11 with a 2.92 ERA and held batters to a .216 average. 

It remains to be seen if he is trying to pitch through some sort of injury or if something is wrong with his mechanics, but he simply hasn’t been the same pitcher that fans have been accustomed to the past few years. 

The Jays will need more from him the rest of the way.    

1. Brandon Morrow’s Return

Brandon Morrow (strained left oblique) will make his first rehabilitation start July 29 with the Jays’ Class-A affiliate in Dunedin, Florida, and is expected to return in the second or third week of August.

He was by far the team's best starting pitcher prior to his injury. 

In 13 games, he’s posted a 7-4 record with a 3.01 ERA and three complete-game shutouts, while limiting the opposition to a .194 average and inducing 67 whiffs in 77.2 innings of work. 

Had he been healthy, there's no telling where the Jays might have been.