Blue Jays continue to have offensive woes with runners in scoring position

The Toronto Blue Jays might have a winning record this season, but it’s safe to say they’re not exactly making things easy on themselves.

Toronto is 9-8 through their first 17 games. They are currently in a three-way tie for third place in an American League East that has remained as competitive as ever.

But with a negative run differential — currently sitting at -16 on the year heading into Tuesday night — Toronto is definitely leaving much to be desired at the plate.

As highlighted by theScore’s Josh Goldberg, Toronto has struggled mightily with runners in scoring position for a second year in a row. Toronto’s .214 batting average with runners in scoring position ranks 28th in MLB, their one home run is tied for last in the MLB, and their .643 OPS is 27th in the league.

#BlueJays with runners in scoring position through 17 games

.214 average (28th in MLB)
1 HR (Tied for last in MLB)
.643 OPS (27th in MLB) pic.twitter.com/mlq7FHW99P

— Josh Goldberg (@JGoldberg12) April 16, 2024

A year ago, Toronto finished 19th in the MLB with a .260 average with runners in scoring position, hitting 34 homers (26th) while putting up an OPS of .730 — which ranked 20th across the major leagues.

At least for this early stretch of the season, the Blue Jays’ “clutch” factor hasn’t quite been there at the plate. Justin Turner (.364) and Cavan Biggio (.304) are the only two players on the roster with a batting average above .300 on the year.

And while the Jays were known for having one of the league’s best pitching staffs last season, they’ve also run into some woes on that side of the ball. Toronto’s ERA of 4.68 is over a half run above the league average of 4.08, with the Jays giving up 80 runs on the season so far.

The Blue Jays play the second matchup of their three-game set against the New York Yankees on Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre, with the first pitch set for 7:07 pm ET.

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