TORONTO — The second time Steven Matz induced what should have been the final out of the fourth inning, he betrayed not a hint of emotion as he watched third baseman Joe Panik’s throw skip by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., at first base, an error extending the frame once again.
A grimace or frown, even a curse muttered into his mitt, would have been understandable. Two pitches earlier, Bo Bichette didn’t field a Joey Wendle grounder cleanly, wasting a chance to record the third out. Two pitches later Matz seemed to undo the damage by inducing another grounder, this one by Francisco Mejia.
Instead, he found himself in a jam with runners at second and third.
Whatever the left-hander felt inside, he did nothing to show up his teammates and his handling of the situation during Friday’s 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays is significant for the Toronto Blue Jays on a number of levels.
The determined manner in which Matz picked up his infielders three pitches later, when Willy Adames’ 103.7 m.p.h. rocket to centre settled into Randal Grichuk’s glove, was a prime display of the type of focus on what is within a player’s control so often preached by coaches.
More importantly, the stoic reaction avoided dumping his frustration on teammates already feeling the heat, as defensive play on the left side of the diamond continues to become an increasingly worrisome trouble spot.
“I know those guys are out there trying as hard as they can,” said Matz. “They want to make the plays. So it’s part of the game, it happens and you definitely don’t want to make it any worse. I know they want to make those plays for me so the goal is to show that I’m going to do the best I can to pick them up.”
Pitchers don’t always handle such situations with the same aplomb, as Blue Jays fans of a certain age will remember well.
Dave Stieb regularly sent angry glares at teammates who didn’t make plays behind him, emoting every bit of his frustrations on the mound, often to the ire of those hustling on his behalf. Sometimes, it made for a pretty tense dugout and clubhouse afterwards.
“That would bother any infielder because we’re all trying to make the plays. Nobody wants to make errors,” said manager Charlie Montoyo, himself a former infielder. “Even as a manager, you see a pitcher doing that, you’ve got to talk to him, or talk to the pitching coach to talk to the pitcher, because he wants to make the plays. So a lot of credit to Matz for staying even-keeled and getting the next guy out.”
Displays of frustration can also exacerbate an already difficult situation, with Bichette now up to six errors after two more miscues Friday, not to mention a throw on the game’s final play that pulled Guerrero off the bag, although he managed to tag Yandy Diaz for the out. Cavan Biggio was in right field for this one as Montoyo wanted Panik’s left-handed bat in the lineup against Tyler Glasnow, but has four errors of his own at third base.
The usually sure-handed Panik made his second error of the year on the hot corner, exacerbating a recent run of shoddy infield play.
Bichette, of course, is the bigger concern, given his unsteady defensive play to end last season and a similarly uneven beginning this year, along with the importance of the shortstop position. Montoyo continues to show faith in the 23-year-old, pointing to his and Biggio’s work ethic and persistence.
“You know what (Bichette) did today after he made those errors? He made big plays,” said Montoyo. “One up the middle on Randy Arozarena (in the seventh inning). The one Joey Wendle hit up the middle (to end the fifth), took another slower bounce and he didn’t panic and he got him at first. That’s what I see. And I’ve been there. I know what it feels like. But I also see after the errors he made the other plays, which is good.”
Matz avoided damage in the fourth inning, but the extra outs allowed the Rays to turn over the lineup for the fifth, when Kevin Kiermaier’s leadoff single and Yandy Diaz’s four-pitch walk were cashed in by a Randy Arozarena home run.
That cut the 4-0 lead the Blue Jays amassed against Glasnow in the first on Rowdy Tellez’s RBI double and Marcus Semien’s three-run home down to a single run.
Matz struck out the next two batters and then had to strand Manuel Margot at second after Bichette’s throw across the diamond dangerously pulled Guerrero’s glove into the runner’s path.
“The reason why he got out of trouble is because he didn’t panic, he didn’t show anybody up. He just said, OK, I’ll get the next guy, OK, I’ll get the next guy,” said Montoyo. “And that’s what he did. A lot of times you see pitchers when that happens and they get mad and now they lose concentration and it becomes a double or whatever after that. Matz did an outstanding job to minimize damage after the errors.”
Still, the three outs not made meant Matz went five innings rather than six, with the bullpen left to carry the extra frame.
That wasn’t a problem on this night for Tyler Chatwood, fresh off the injured list, David Phelps, Tim Mayza and Rafael Dolis, helped along by the extra breathing room provided by Randal Grichuk’s solo shot in the sixth.
The mistakes, however, won’t always be so easily overcome for the Blue Jays, who are either experiencing an extended defensive slump on the left side of the field they just have to ride out, or the beginning of a much bigger problem.
