TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays’ 10-game homestand started quite heartily. It opened with a three-game sweep against the National League-leading Atlanta Braves during a series that showcased some of the best elements of what the home side can offer.
But oh, how quickly things can change in baseball.
The Blue Jays ended their homestand in heart-breaking fashion with an 8-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in 11 innings in front of 41,643 at Rogers Centre on Sunday. The loss capped a three-game sweep and the Blue Jays’ second-straight extra-innings defeat.
And not only is the club reeling, having lost six of its last seven, the Blue Jays are dealing with an ice-cold offence that’s having trouble with runners in scoring position.
The Blue Jays were a dismal 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position on Saturday and entered Sunday hitting .237 on the season in those situations, ranking 24th in baseball. Such issues persisted Sunday, with a 3-for-16 showing with runners in scoring position.
Among the prime chances to score:
• George Springer led off the bottom of the first with a single up the middle. He stole second and advanced to third on Bo Bichette’s infield single. A great situation, no doubt. But Vladimir Guerrero Jr. promptly struck out, as did Brandon Belt, while Bichette was caught trying to steal second base to end the frame.
• The bases were loaded with two out for Bichette in the second, when he promptly flew out to right field.
• Another bases-loaded situation in the sixth inning with Kevin Kiermaier stepping to the plate against left-hander Cionel Perez, who had just walked Danny Jansen on four pitches. Kiermaier drove the first pitch he saw to shortstop, which was flipped to second for an inning-ending double play.
• Matt Chapman — who put the Blue Jays on the board in the second inning with a solo home run — had a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to tie the game at 2, but that was followed by a Whit Merrifield strikeout. Sure, the Blue Jays scored, but ideally would have liked to plate more than just the one run.
• And finally, some honourable mentions that emphasize the dishevelled state of the offence: Cavan Biggio was tagged out at second after oversliding well past the base and Merrifield, representing the winning run in the 10th inning, was picked off at first by the pitcher.
The lost opportunities were plentiful and overshadowed a strong outing by Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman, who was his stellar self while twirling an eight-inning gem.
The right-hander allowed just two runs on six hits, walking two and striking out four. With his velocity up across the board, Gausman leaned on a fastball that averaged 95.2 m.p.h. and topped out at 98 m.p.h. He tossed a season-high 115 pitches, giving the Blue Jays offence as much time as possible to push across some runs.
He was helped out by some incredible defence in the fourth inning when Gunnar Henderson crushed a fastball to deep centre field. Kerimnier gave chase before timing his jump and leaping with his glove hand fully extended to make a highlight-reel catch as he crashed into the wall.
The game stayed tied until the 10th inning, when Cedric Mullins singled to right field off Blue Jays reliever Nate Pearson to drive in Jorge Mateo. In the bottom half, Merrifield tied the game at three with a single up the middle off Orioles reliever Austin Voth.
In the 11th, though, the Orioles delivered a knockout blow by stringing together four consecutive hits off Blue Jays reliever Yimi Garcia to plate three runs and Mullins followed that by crushing a double to the right-centre field gap that added two more and put the game out of reach.
The loss ensured the Blue Jays finished their homestand at 4-6. It began in promising fashion with the sweep over the Braves, but that was followed by three losses in four games to the New York Yankees.
Sunday’s loss dropped the Blue Jays’ record against AL East opponents to 6-11 this season and things won’t get any easier in the short term as the club now sets out on a road trip that features four games against the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays and three versus the Minnesota Twins, who sit atop the AL Central.
