DETROIT – Anibal Sanchez dominated the most prolific lineup in baseball Friday, coming within five outs of a no-hitter. Then, in a matter of minutes, the Toronto Blue Jays started hitting. Before long the tying runs reached base.
But even the Blue Jays’ MLB-leading lineup couldn’t cover up for their shortcomings this time, as poor starting pitching and questionable defence led to an 8-6 loss.
“We were uncharacteristically sloppy out there with some of the throws we didn’t back up,” manager John Gibbons said. “That was unusual for us. We haven’t seen that all year.”
Starter Drew Hutchison struggled and left fielder Ezequiel Carrera, whose eighth-inning single broke up the no-hit bid, made two throwing errors that only made things worse. On one of those plays, Hutchison was not positioned to back up third baseman Josh Donaldson, which allowed the Tigers to keep circling the bases.
Sanchez ultimately allowed four runs on three hits while striking out five in front of 39,367 at Comerica Park. He got a standing ovation for the performance, though Toronto’s rally meant he didn’t get a quality start.
The Blue Jays batted around in the eighth, combining five hits and three walks for a six-run outburst capped by Dioner Navarro’s three-run double. The tying runs reached base for Kevin Pillar, but when he flied out to end the inning the Blue Jays still trailed.
“That’s why we’re capable of scoring a lot of runs,” Navarro said. “It can happen in the blink of an eye.”
“We never feel out of it,” Gibbons added. “We hung around and we did what we do an awful lot. I tip my hat to those guys out there.”
Still, Sanchez out-pitched Hutchison by a wide margin. The 24-year-old allowed seven runs, of which five were earned, on ten hits, as his season ERA climbed to 5.23. The outing marked the sixth time in 17 starts that he has been unable to complete five innings.
Only one pitcher in baseball has obtained more run support than Hutchison this year — Mark Buehrle. The Blue Jays have scored an average of 6.75 runs per game for the veteran left-hander, while scoring 6.59 per game for Hutchison entering play Friday. Even so, Hutchison has now allowed 42 earned runs in 42 road innings this year. It’s not a trend he expects to continue.
“I had a bad start, it’s as simple as that,” he said. “It just happened to be on the road.”
Navarro acknowledged that nothing was working for Hutchison, but despite the rough outing, Hutchison says he felt good early on and believes better results are ahead.
“There’s no confidence issue. There’s none of that,” Hutchison said. “I just need to be better and it’s that simple.”
Felix Doubront made his Blue Jays debut in the game, pitching 2.1 innings of relief while allowing one run on three hits. Promoted Friday to provide much-needed relief depth, the left-hander should be able to throw again Sunday, Gibbons said. The Blue Jays need a starter for Tuesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox, and while Doubront hasn’t been ruled out, he could be called on beforehand.
One way or another, the Blue Jays need better pitching. Manager John Gibbons knows it, and GM Alex Anthopoulos does, too.
“I know he’s hunting like a lot of guys are,” Gibbons said. “That’s his plan.”
Similarly, the win doesn’t overshadow bigger-picture issues for the Tigers, whose best player left the game injured. Miguel Cabrera left in the fourth inning with a left calf strain and will now undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.
These Blue Jays rallies are becoming familiar, but so are the poor pitching performances that create big deficits in the first place. As the Blue Jays are showing, no team can hit their way out of trouble every time.