TORONTO — Reality sets in a little more with each passing day, with each accumulated loss for the Toronto Blue Jays, who went 7-15 in a litmus-test stretch against contending clubs and head out now on a nine-game West Coast swing a season-worst nine-games below .500.
Between the struggles, the attrition and the spectre of what the looming trade deadline might be, this is going to be a difficult month in what’s become an increasingly challenging Blue Jays season.
“We all know and understand that we should be better and we can be better. But you don’t want to try to get it all back at once. You’ve got to keep going and see what happens,” George Springer said Thursday before collecting two hits in a 5-3 loss to the surging Houston Astros that capped a 3-5 homestand. “Our team has a job to do and that’s to play to the best of our abilities and not really be concerned about what lies ahead. The best thing for me, for us, for everybody is to concentrate on the day, hopefully learn something, whether it’s good, bad or indifferent, and when it comes to the future and next year, hopefully we’re in a much better position.”
There really isn’t much more to it than that for the Blue Jays, who for the next few weeks must focus their energy on leveraging the July 30 trade deadline before beginning a thorough internal audit on how the organization got into this spot on July 31.
All that will play out in time, with each day an opportunity, as Springer said, for some learning. Be it for the likes of Spencer Horwitz, who had three hits, including a two-run single in the first, Addison Barger, Davis Schneider and Leo Jimenez trying to cement themselves in the majors. Or for established players like Alejandro Kirk, Bo Bichette and Daulton Varsho, chasing their peak level, or for veterans like Springer and Gausman trying to get back to their best.
Chris Bassitt, who’d allowed three runs or less in his 11 previous outings, has been one of the pitchers performing to his level, but had a rougher day against the Astros, allowing three runs in the first, plus a go-ahead RBI single in the fifth to Mauricio Dubon that broke a 3-3 tie.
