Since July 27 the Blue Jays went 11-11 through the August 19 win over Pittsburgh while the Red Sox and Yankees went 12-9, leaving Toronto 1.5 games back in the AL East. The bullpen has been a primary weakness, ranking 25th in ERA (5.06) and 30th in walks per nine innings (6.06) over the last month. The bullpen was 18th in ERA on August 4, and Fluharty and Hoffman's ERAs have shifted, indicating regression. Heavy usage of less experienced relievers, especially Brendon Little, has driven elevated workloads as the regular season nears its conclusion.
Since July 27th, the Blue Jays are 11-11 after their 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 19th. Luckily for them, the Red Sox and New York Yankees are 12-9 over that span, so the Blue Jays have only lost 1.5 games in the AL East title chase. One major factor in the .500 record is the bullpen's abysmal production. Over the last month, they are 25th in ERA (5.06) and 30th in walks per nine innings (6.06).
On August 4th, the bullpen ranked 18th in ERA (4.03), making the 15-day span more alarming because Mason Fluharty and Jeff Hoffman had ERAs of 5.63 and 4.66 at the time; however, they have since improved to 5.05 and 4.15, respectively. This means that the pitchers who were producing the better ERAs are now performing worse, although they still have respectable stats; there's a sign of regression.
Brendon Little has been the go-to left-handed reliever for the bullpen since Eric Lauer became a starter due to the injury issues the starting rotation has suffered all season. Little has pitched 54 innings this season, but over his three seasons in the majors, although he pitched only 2/3 of an inning in 2022, his previous career high was 45 2/3 innings (not counting his outing on Wednesday in Pittsburgh).
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