Aaron Sanchez's dream start for Blue Jays comes to a crashing halt
TORONTO – The Oakland Athletics came through the Rogers Centre on Friday night and hit Aaron Sanchez around in an 8-5 win, the first time this season that the Blue Jays' 23-year-old starter has been roughed up.
Sanchez came in with a 1.35 ERA in three starts, providing a reminder why he was considered one of the top pitching prospects in baseball going back just a couple years.
Friday's start was a reminder he is still has a ways to go before he fully establishes himself in the big leagues. Sanchez's pitch mix was in line with his season averages to date and he didn't struggle too much with his control – a problem which plagued him during his two months as a starter last year – as he allowed one walk.
His issue in this one was simple: the A's feasted on Sanchez's fastball. He had given up 10 hits over his first 20 innings of work. That number doubled in 4 1/3 innings as Oakland pounded Sanchez for 10 hits and six runs to send the Blue Jays to a third straight loss. Eight of those 10 hits came off his fastball.
"The fastball was up in the zone. Typically when [Sanchez is] up in the zone his ball doesn't have as much sink (or) depth," said catcher Russell Martin. "It was just one of those days where Aaron didn't really have his 'A' stuff."
Much like the Yankees did when they saw Sanchez earlier in April, A's manager Bob Melvin stacked his lineup with seven left-handed or switch-hitters. Until he refines his offspeed pitches, that'll continue to be the case. The splits don't lie: lefties have enjoyed great success against Sanchez, while he's been nearly unhittable against righties.
"Early on when he was basically just that two-seam pitcher, lefties would give him some trouble," said manager John Gibbons. "The key is that he has to be able to drop his curveball in there and he's got to really hit on his changeup."
The Blue Jays were down 6-1 when Sanchez was pulled in the fifth, but rallied with runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth to get within one. The Athletics added two runs in the top of the ninth, though, to put the game out of reach and extend their winning streak to six games.
Right-hander Drew Hutchison is being called up from Triple-A Buffalo to start Sunday's game against Oakland. The Blue Jays are making a concerted effort of giving their starters an extra day of rest every so often, and they're getting started with that plan in the first month of the season.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
