The Toronto Blue Jays already had their fair share of problems before the series opener in Philadelphia against the MLB-leading Phillies.
Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, the list kept growing early in Tuesday’s game.
Ace Jose Berrios, the American League’s pitcher of the month in April, had by far his worst outing of the season.
It ended in the fourth inning when a red-hot Bryce Harper crushed a grand slam on an 0-2 pitch with two out, giving the Phillies an 8-0 lead.
That prompted manager John Schneider to come out of the dugout and replace Berrios with Trevor Richards.
But that wasn’t the only bit of business for Schneider on his trip to the field.
A heated Schneider gave the umpires an earful, presumably for ruling Kyle Schwarber was hit by a pitch earlier that inning, even though it looked like he did not check his swing.
The argument resulted in Schneider getting tossed for the sixth time in his time as manager of the Blue Jays.
Berrios’ rough outing is the second poor start in a row for the Blue Jays after Alek Manoah’s short season debut on Sunday.
The Blue Jays can ill afford a downturn for their starters, who have kept them hovering around .500 for a good chunk of the year despite poor offence and a shaky bullpen.
Toronto (16-19) had lost four series in a row prior to coming to Philadelphia and has fallen into last place in the American League East.
