2017 Toronto Blue Jays season
Atkins stated that the club would likely extend qualifying offers to pending free agents José Bautista and Edwin Encarnación, and pick up Jason Grilli's $3 million contract option for the 2017 season.
[3] Center fielder Kevin Pillar underwent surgery in late October to repair a thumb ligament he tore in August, and was expected to be ready for 2017 spring training.
[9] The Blue Jays also claimed Dominic Leone and Leonel Campos on November 18,[10] and added Anthony Alford, Ryan Borucki, and Richard Ureña to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.
[17] Aaron Loup agreed to a one-year, $1.125 million contract for the 2017 season the following day, leaving Marcus Stroman as the lone remaining Blue Jay eligible for arbitration.
[44] On February 23, the team announced that non-roster invitee Casey Lawrence would start the first game of the Grapefruit League season, and be followed in the rotation by Joe Biagini and Mat Latos.
[50] Reliever Bo Schultz, who had been competing for a spot in the bullpen, underwent Tommy John surgery on March 29, and was ruled out for the entire season.
[69] Their seven-game losing streak came to an end on April 15, when Kendrys Morales hit a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Jays a 2–1 victory.
[73] In the final game of the home stand, the Blue Jays were denied their first series-win of the year, as the offence was stymied by Red Sox ace Chris Sale.
[78] In the final game of the Angels series, Basner made several questionable calls against both teams, and ejected Blue Jays manager John Gibbons.
In the top of the eleventh inning, Marcus Stroman was called upon to pinch-hit and delivered the first hit and double of his career, and later scored the go-ahead run to take a 6–5 lead that the team would not surrender.
[82] The Jays held the Rays to a single run in the second game, and Roberto Osuna bounced back from a few rough outings with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his second save of the season, closing the 4–1 win.
The game was not without disappointment however, as Aaron Sanchez returned from the disabled list to start, but lasted only a single inning before leaving with a split fingernail on his pitching hand.
[90] Joe Biagini made his first Major League start in the final game of the series, pitching four strong innings and aiding the Blue Jays to a 2–1 win and just their second series-victory of the year.
[93] The third and final game of the series went into the ninth inning tied 7–7, before the Jays managed to load the bases for Ryan Goins, who singled in the winning run.
[98] Kevin Pillar hit the first walk-off home run of his career in the final game of the series, giving the Blue Jays a 3–2 victory, their first four-game sweep since the 2015 season, and a five-game winning streak.
[110] Heading home to close May, the Blue Jays faced the Texas Rangers for the first time since sweeping them out of the playoffs in the 2016 American League Division Series.
[119] Francisco Liriano returned from the disabled list to start the second game, and led Toronto to a 7–5 victory with assistance from Josh Donaldson, who hit two home runs.
Seattle won the opener, 4–2, in what resembled a Toronto home game due to the large number of Blue Jay fans present at Safeco Field.
Toronto held a 4–1 lead in the first game heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, however, with Roberto Osuna unavailable, the combination of Ryan Tepera, Aaron Loup, and Jason Grilli allowed four runs with two outs to hand Kansas a 5–4 win.
[138] Post-game, Osuna explained to the media that he was unavailable due to an anxiety issue he had recently developed, and noted that, while he felt fine physically, he was unsure of when he would pitch again.
To end the unofficial first half of the season, the Blue Jays embarked on a short three-game road trip against the Yankees before returning home for four games against the AL-leading Houston Astros.
[153] Houston shellacked the Blue Jays in the final game before the All-Star break, 19–1, handing Toronto their second-most lopsided loss in franchise history.
[167] Steve Pearce hit a walk-off grand slam in the tenth inning of the final game to give the Jays an 8–4 win and a four-game sweep.
[168] Controversy arose in the fifth inning, after home plate umpire Will Little ejected John Gibbons, Marcus Stroman, and Russell Martin for arguing about the strike zone.
The first sent Francisco Liriano to the Houston Astros for outfielders Nori Aoki and Teoscar Hernández, while the second swapped Joe Smith with the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Thomas Pannone and infielder Samad Taylor.
[201] Marcus Stroman started the third game of the series, but had to be removed after pitching 12⁄3 innings when he suffered a bruised elbow from a Mark Trumbo line drive.
Richard Ureña hit his first career home run, but the Blue Jays were unable to overcome a second inning deficit caused by a Nick Castellanos grand slam and lost the game by a score of 5–4.
Trailing 2–1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Blue Jays came back and defeated the Orioles 3–2, with Richard Ureña tallying his first career walk-off hit.
Despite giving up the record-setting home run, the Blue Jays won the game 5–2 backed by a seven-inning effort by Marcus Stroman and a three RBI night by Darwin Barney.
Ending their season with a six-game road trip, the Blue Jays returned to Boston for the second time in September to face the Red Sox for three games.
