ARLINGTON, Texas – Finally, runs, a lot of them, and early, too. One in the first, four in the second and another in the third, the Toronto Blue Jays matching their cumulative total from the previous three games in three trips to the plate Sunday against Jon Gray. For an offence seeking a breakthrough, it sure felt like one. After all, how many times in the last month have they been one hit short in a tight loss? Up 6-0, with Chris Bassitt on the mound, they couldn’t have been set up better to bounce from the Lone Star State with a series win in hand.
Only then, they unravelled, a series of miscues combined with an explosion at the plate by the top offence in the majors leading to a stunning 11-7 Texas Rangers victory. A good day at the plate can mask a whole a lot of shortcomings, but the Blue Jays played way too fast and loose in falling for the sixth time in nine outings.
What will hurt after this one is the way they lost as much as the loss itself. The Rangers are atop the AL West for a reason, but the Blue Jays certainly made things easier for them before a crowd of 38,515 at Globe Life Field.
Consider the following sampling of laments:
- A false start at second base by Bo Bichette in the first inning that prompted Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and to follow at first base and made him easy pickings for catcher Mitch Garver, cutting short an inning of promise;
- A Guerrero throwing error on the relay to Bassitt after a Nathaniel Lowe grounder up the line with two out in the third that kept the inning alive;
- A series of positional miscues up the middle that contributed to a Kevin Kiermaier throwing error after a Josh Jung RBI single in the third, which gifted the Rangers a second run on the play;
- A seven-pitch top of the fourth immediately after that kept momentum rolling for the Rangers;
- An Ezequiel Duran popper with a hit probability of one per cent that landed between Guerrero, George Springer (who probably had the best shot at it even though he needed to cover 116 feet and only reached a sprint speed of 24.3 feet per second) and Whit Merrifield down the line in right field, setting up a pair of go-ahead runs.
Each mistake helped undo the good that came from an outburst at the plate that included a Daulton Varsho sacrifice fly in the first, a two-run single by Whit Merrifield and two-run double by Bichette in the second and run-scoring groundout in the third by Spencer Horwitz, who singled in his first career at-bat and added two walks during an impressive debut.
Still, adding to the woes for the Blue Jays is that Alejandro Kirk was forced from the game in the second after a Gray fastball hit him on the left hand and left him with a laceration and contusion. X-Rays were negative for a fracture, but catcher Tyler Heineman was pulled from his game at triple-A Buffalo and he may be destined for the taxi squad.
If needed, he’ll meet the Blue Jays (39-34) in Miami, where they are set to close out this nine-game road trip with a three-game series against the Marlins beginning Monday.
Jose Berrios is slated to start the opener and length will be needed from him after Bassitt lasted only 3.2 innings. He’d looked to be through three frames unscathed when Lowe’s hard charge up the line pressured Guerrero, whose relay to Bassitt was way wide. Josh Jung’s base hit then brought home one run and Kiermaier fielded the ball and prepared to relay the ball into the infield where no one was covering at second. He lobbed the ball in as Bichette scrambled to the bag and when he didn’t pick the throw clean, Adolis Garcia, who’d walked, scrambled home.
The Blue Jays still led 6-2 at that point, but a two-run Corey Seager double in the fourth plus a Garcia RBI single narrowed the lead to one and ended Bassitt’s day, while Jonah Heim’s solo shot off Nate Pearson to open the fifth tied the game before a Leody Taveras RBI single and Marcus Semien sacrifice fly put the Rangers up for good.
