TORONTO\u2013With the Dodgers coming off an offensively dominant performance against the Washington Nationals, their next opponent will be a familiar one, the well-balanced, hard-hitting Toronto Blue Jays, who are looking to go back to the World Series. While their dominant plate appearances and long at-bats continue to be the driving offensive focus of this lineup, they do continue to have weaknesses that the Dodgers can exploit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Blue Jays are a right-handed dominant lineup, meaning right-handed pitchers will absolutely dominate on the mound. Furthermore, this lineup has weak spots that the Dodgers can exploit. Based on data from Baseball Savant, the Blue Jays are immaculate at hitting pitches low and outside. This highlights their approach, showing that they are always trying to drive the ball to the opposite field, allowing them to take long at-bats and drive starters out of the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While some will cite this as an elite approach, as it is the approach many players are taught in High School, there are some weaknesses. For starters, if pitchers make a point of going up and in, it can throw off opposing hitters\u2019 timing, leading to easy outs on the ground.<\/p>\n
The Dodgers can play into this. This lineup loves to drive pitchcounts up, so if the Dodgers can bait them into taking quick at-bats, the starters will be able to go deep into this ballgame. Furthermore, the Blue Jays aren\u2019t good at hitting pitches inside. They\u2019re hitting an abysmal .143 at pitches up and in. Paired with their .176 batting average on pitches low and in, the Blue Jays have revealed their weakness in a small sample size.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dodger fans and Jays fans should be excited for this upcoming matchup, as this will be a series for the ages as the Jays try to get back at the Dodgers for stealing their title.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More Dodgers Coverage:<\/p>\n