The pitchers were just about as bad as the hitters were in August. They had a 4.48 ERA (actually, slightly better than the 4.64 ERA from April). The starters had a 5-12 record with a 4.78 ERA, their worst mark of the season. The relievers were 4-5 with a 3.97 ERA, the second best monthly ERA for the pen. But that doesn't mean that it was really a good month for them.
I was going to include a poll for 'pitcher of the month' but only a couple of our pitchers had good months.
R.A. Dickey: 1-2 with a 4.40 ERA in 5 starts. In 5 starts, he pitched 30.2 innings (6.13 per start). Batters hit .279/.353/.467 against him, with 4 home runs, 11 walks and 21 strikeouts. 3 of his 5 starts were 'Quality starts' but really, that masks the fact that he hasn't been good. His 'win' was in his worst start of the month, he gave up 5 runs in 5.2 innings but it was one of the few games of the month we scored a bunch, beating the Brewers 9-5.
Mark Buehrle: 0-2 with a 5.76 ERA. In 5 starts he pitched 25 inning (5 innings per start). Batters hit .363/.390/.496 with 2 home runs, 5 walks and 16 strikeouts. Hard to believe they hit .363 against him. To put it in a bit of perspective, Jose Altuve is leading the AL with a .336 average. 1 of his 5 starts was a 'Quality start', but even that one wasn't good, 6.1 innings, 8 hits, 3 earned. His last start did look good, for the first 5 innings, and then it fell apart. The team is talking about 'being creative' to get him to 200 innings, which, to me, is a bit of a cheat. He needs 33 more innings and might have 6 more starts. It is amazing, he's been so bad for so long, and, because of the great start to the season, his ERA in still just 3.50.
Drew Hutchison: 2-2 with a 3.93 ERA. In 5 starts he pitched 34.1 innings (6.87 innings per start). Batters hit .190/.259/.355 with 4 home runs, 10 walks and 32 strikeouts. July was hit worst month of the season, but he turned things around in August. 3 of his 5 starts were quality starts. He had 3 really good starts and 2 really bad starts. When he has a bad start, I think 'he's pitched too much this year' and then he has a good start and that thought disappears.
J.A. Happ: 1-3 with a 4.10 ERA. In 6 starts he pitched 37.1 innings (6.22 innings per start). Batters hit .243/.286/.472 against him, with 6 home runs, 8 walks and 36 strikeouts. He kept runners off the bases better by far than any other month. OBP against by month, .400, .342, .350, .337 and .286. But then it was his worst month for slugging average against. It looks like he is working to throw more strikes and maybe because of that, he's having more pitches hit hard. 4 of his 6 starts were quality starts.
Marcus Stroman: 1-3, with a 6.39 ERA. In 5 starts he pitched 25.1 innings (5.07 innings per start). Batters hit .295/.351/.381 with 1 home run, 8 walks and 18 strikeouts. His worst month as a starter. Still he keeps the ball in the park and he wasn't walking too many. 2 of the 5 starts were quality starts. He had 2 really good starts, one a complete game 4 hitter, the other he went 7.2, allowing 5 hits and 1 earned. And he had his worst start of the season, getting just 2 outs, giving up 5 hits and 5 runs.
Casey Janssen: 0-2, 2 save, 2 blown saves with a 6.75 ERA . In 11 games he pitched 9.1 innings. Batters hit .324/.375/.568 with 2 home runs, 3 walks and 7 strikeouts. He gave up runs in 3 of the 11 appearances, I would have said he gave up runs in most of his appearances, if I just went by my memory. In the 11 games, he only pitched a clean inning 3 times. He did look better in his last outing. I'd imagine the food poisoning took a lot of out him. I'm hoping the worst is behind him.
Dustin McGowan: 1-0, 2 holds, 1 blown save with a 4.66 ERA. In 12 games he pitched 9.2 innings. Batters hit .257/.333/.400 with 1 home run, 5 walks and 6 strikeouts. He was very good in June and July and then not as good in August. He gave up runs in 3 of his appearances and more than 1 run (3) in only appearance.
Aaron Loup: 1-1, no holds, a 3.09 ERA. In 12 games he pitched 11.2 innings. Batters hit .250/.304/.500 against him with 2 home runs, 4 walks and 7 strikeouts. He allowed earned runs in 3 of the 12 appearances, 2 in one game, 1 in 2 games. He's been very good, even if he did allow a home run to a LHB for the first time.
Brett Cecil: 1-0,1 save, 3 holds, a 2.38 ERA. In 13 games he pitched 11.1 innings. Batters hit .190/.244/.357 with 2 home runs, 3 walks and 20 strikeouts. He got 34 outs and 20 of them were strikeouts. He allowed 3 earned runs in his first appearance of the month, then didn't allow another. He's been great.
Aaron Sanchez: 0-1, 1 save, 2 holds, a 1.76 ERA. In 10 games he's pitched 15.1 innings. Batters hit .154/.200/.212 with 1 home run, 3 walks and 17 strikeouts. He gave up runs in 2 of his appearances. He's been great. He pitched more than an inning in 7 of his 10 appearances.
Todd Redmond: 0-0, 6.35 ERA. In 6 games he pitched 11.1 innings. Batters hit .302/.392/.442 with 1 home run, 7 walks and 8 strikeouts against him. he gave up runs in 3 of his 6 appearances, 5, 2 and 1 run. He's been very good this season. He should be allowed a bad month. Unfortunately it was the same month so many others had a bad month.
Chad Jenkins: 1-0, 0.73 ERA. In 6 games he pitched 12.1 innings. Batters hit .275/.302/.314 with 2 walks and 8 strikeouts. The stand out game with the one he went 6 shutout innings in extras against the Tigers, getting the win. He's been really good, when he's with the team. If someone were to create a 'Is Chad Jenkins currently up with the Blue Jays?' phone app, I'd be the first one to purchase it.
Sergio Santos: 0-1, 20.25 ERA. In 2 games he pitched 1.1 innings. Batters hit .500/.556/1.375 with 2 home runs, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. He faced 9 batters, 5 of them reached base. The Jays outrighted him to the Fisher Cats. I don't understand why the Fisher Cats, their season is over, but I'm sure there is some reason. I'm imagining Alex threw a dart and a board.
Kyle Drabek: 0-0, 0.00 ERA. He pitched in 2 games, 3 innings. Batters hit .182/.308/.273 against him, with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. I'm surprised he wasn't one of the ones that is coming up for September, but I guess they will have more than enough pitchers without him.
Steve Tolleson: Faced two batters, got both of them out, including one by strikeout.