TORONTO – Mark Buehrle is adamant he could have started Saturday on his regular turn, and that there’s no real difference between pitching Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles and Monday, when he’s slated to toe the rubber against the Boston Red Sox after being pushed back an extra day.

Still, the veteran Toronto Blue Jays left-hander also concedes that for the past month or so, he’s not bouncing back from outings in the same way he has in past years. His velocity suggests something is up, with his fastball down from an average of 85.03 mph in July to 82.81 mph last month, according to data from Brooks Baseball.

Reluctantly, he admits he’s dealing with more soreness than in previous late Augusts/Septembers, and clearly, he’s grinding.

“That’s a fair assessment, yeah,” Buehrle said in an interview Sunday. “There are times it’s worse than others, there are other times it doesn’t feel like I pitched the day after a start. It’s that time of year, everybody’s hurting. Obviously I’m older and have had a lot more innings than those other guys, so it’s probably taking a little bit more wear and tear on me, but the whole rotation getting switched up, I was fine going [Saturday], and I’m just as capable of throwing today as tomorrow.

“That was not on me, that was on them.”

The Blue Jays are, indeed, erring on the side of caution by building in extra rest for their 36-year-old, who’s already logged 171 innings over 26 starts, posting a 14-6 record with a 3.53 ERA, on track to achieve double-digit wins and 200 innings for the 15th straight season.

Buehrle last pitched Aug. 30, allowing two runs, one earned, over six innings against the Detroit Tigers, and will take the mound at Fenway Park with seven days of rest. The 36-year-old has made three starts on six or more days of rest this season, going 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA over 20 innings in those outings.

While that bump suggests the extra rest helps, the numbers when Buehrle throws on five days of rest instead of the usual four suggest there’s no real benefit.

Either way, Buehrle isn’t convinced the extra time does much for him.

“There are times I feel good on my Day 4, the day before you’re supposed to pitch,” he said. “Sometimes you go out and play catch and feel better that day than the day you go out and pitch.”

The extra wear and tear means more time in the training room for Buehrle, with additional treatments including “taping my shoulders back just to try and keep my posture going,” and “doing different to try and get it going and try to feel better.”

The lack of certainty has meant adjustments on the mound, too, especially in games like last week against the Tigers, when his fastball sat at 81.17 mph and his sinker was 80.97, his lowest averages of the season, according to Brooks.

“Obviously I’m not a big velocity guy, but when the velocity is down – you’re not feeling it,” said Buehrle. “Last game against Detroit, you throw a fastball in to Miguel Cabrera and if you don’t hit your spot and it’s slower than normal, you don’t have the confidence to throw it in there. That messes with you a little bit.”

How does he deal with that?

“Just make sure to hit my spot, even more than before,” replied Buehrle. “I know that if I get it in there, I have to make sure I get it in off the plate a little bit, or make sure it’s on the inside of the plate, don’t miss over the middle.”

More often than not, he still managed to do precisely that in August, posting a 3-1 mark in six starts last month with a 4.38 ERA, better than both his April (4.94) and May (4.99) but well off his June (1.75) and July (1.82).

“I don’t feel like it’s been this way all year,” said Buehrle. “I’ve felt pretty good the whole time, it’s just been these last few starts that I have a few aches and pains. I could go out there tomorrow and have everything back to normal, I don’t know.”