OAKLAND, Calif – When swelling in his right middle finger forced Matt Chapman to leave a 10-7 loss to Cleveland on Aug. 27, half an inning after Bo Bichette exited with a right quad strain, he realized the challenging situation the Toronto Blue Jays suddenly found themselves in. At the same time, the veteran third baseman also understood how much season remained.
“It just goes to show you really can’t predict what’s going to happen,” Chapman said Wednesday afternoon, before what had been shaping as a great road trip for the Blue Jays concluded as merely a good one with four wins in six outings thanks to a 5-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics. “Every single day things are changing and every game is really going to matter. It makes it fun. We’re going to be in a dogfight until the very end of the year. Obviously, we’re going to play Texas coming up here. Everything is right in front of us.”
A Kevin Smith three-run homer in the sixth inning off reliever Trevor Richards was the decisive blow as the Blue Jays (77-63) fell back into a tie for the third and final AL wild-card spot with the Texas Rangers (76-62), who were hosting the Houston Astros (79-61) later Wednesday.
While disappointing, the Blue Jays have still made up significant ground since falling 3.5 games out of a playoff spot Aug. 29 after losing both Chapman and Bichette. They return home for an off-day Thursday before opening a 10-game homestand with three games of opportunity against Kansas City before the Rangers check in for four pivotal contests.
Bichette, who looked strong hitting, fielding and running Tuesday and will work out again Thursday at Rogers Centre, is trending toward an imminent return, perhaps this weekend, while Chapman, who fielded grounded balls and did some light throwing Wednesday, is stuck waiting for the swelling to dissipate in his finger before starting to swing the bat again.
“It sucks,” Chapman said of missing time. “I’m just trying not to focus too much on not being able to play and just trying to do everything I can to get back on the field, root these guys on and try to find any little way I can help. It sucks not being out there and trying to get back as soon as I can. In the meantime, just trying to be a part of the team, help the guys out because we’re all a team and I can find other ways to try to help.”
What would have helped Wednesday is more offence, as starter J.P. Sears limited them to a second-inning Ernie Clement RBI single through five innings of work while Davis Schneider’s seventh home run, a solo shot in the eighth inning, was all they mustered in trying to rally.
Hyun Jin Ryu, continuing his remarkable return from Tommy John surgery, cruised through his first three frames before an announced crowd of 3,871 that appeared far sparser, but surrendered a two-run shot to Carlos Perez in the fourth that gave the Athletics their first lead of the series, one they never surrendered.
Ryu allowed just those two runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts over five innings.
