PHOENIX — There are several reasons why the lineup connectivity so instrumental to the Toronto Blue Jays’ success a year ago appears so disjointed right now — as demonstrated most recently by Friday’s 6-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The absence of George Springer, Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger — potentially set to be exacerbated as Daulton Varsho is now dealing with left knee discomfort — is front and centre in that regard, pulling three impact bats from the mix while forcing part-time players into more prominent roles.
Then, there are the newcomers to the lineup that the club is still “trying to onboard … as to how this all works, and how it works in conjunction with one-through-nine, or one-through-13,” said manager John Schneider. “That’s part of what’s been missing offensively.”
Among the ways that’s manifested on the field is in not only what Blue Jays hitters are swinging at, but also how they’re taking those rips, too, which is why hitting coach David Popkins made that the focus of the hitters’ pre-game meeting Friday.
“There’s a clear plan the league is making for us — they’re pitching to contact, kind of walking us out of the zone and we’re putting some weak balls in play,” Popkins explained. “So it’s getting back to being hunters and not reacting. When our group is up there hunting something to do damage on before two strikes, and knowing two strikes we’re one of the best teams in baseball, the rest takes care of itself.”
Over time, that should hold true, although for the moment, while there’s still a gap between game-plan and execution, the Blue Jays are still trying to work out of their offensive funk.
Michael Soroka, Canada’s ace at the World Baseball Classic, held them to two runs over seven innings while living on the edges of the zone, limiting the damage to a Lenyn Sosa safety squeeze in the fourth and a Myles Straw solo shot in the sixth.
Balls in play vs. Soroka, courtesy Baseball Savant
The Blue Jays did a better job of forcing Jonathan Loiasiga into the zone in the eighth, when Vladimir Guerrero’s two-out RBI single made it a 5-3 game after Straw hit into a wild double play turned brilliantly by Geraldo Perdomo after the ball deflected off second baseman Ildemaro Vargas.
Balls in play vs. Loaisiga, courtesy Baseball Savant
But a Guerrero error on an awkward Jose Fernandez chopper in the seventh led to a pair of unearned runs while Joe Mantiply, facing his old team for the first time, surrendered an RBI double to Tim Tawa in the bottom of the eighth, and that was too much to overcome.
Knowing runs are at a premium, the Blue Jays got creative at the start of the game, using Braydon Fisher out of the gate in what Schneider described as a “a traditional nerd opener” designed to limit the number of times Eric Lauer faced the top of the Arizona lineup.
Fisher did his part and Lauer ended up allowing three runs over five innings on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
Sosa’s bunt in the fourth made it a 1-0 game but Nolan Arenado’s solo shot in the bottom half tied the game. In the fifth, Tawa’s leadoff walk eventually led to RBI singles by Corbin Carroll and Fernandez that opened up a 3-1 edge.
Straw’s solo shot in the sixth made it 3-2, but the Blue Jays didn’t get any closer.
