BALTIMORE – The start by Marco Estrada, especially given where he’s at, was serviceable enough. Five innings of three-run ball isn’t ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but the Toronto Blue Jays should be able to work with such an outing more often than not, and there’s the promise of something better.
Monday, however, wasn’t one of those nights, not with good Ubaldo Jimenez continuing his strong start to the season, and Jose Bautista, still with too much soreness in his shoulder to begin throwing, on the bench for more rest to "expedite the (healing) process," in the words of manager John Gibbons.
When the all-star slugger picks up a ball again, let alone returns to right field, is a lingering and troublesome unknown.
"It’s hard to say a number of days, it’s impossible to predict," Bautista said after making the final out as a pinch hitter in a 5-2 series-opening loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night. "Sometimes I wake up and I can’t brush my hair, sometimes I wake up and it feels OK, obviously not good enough to throw.
"It changes from day to day, I can’t tell you why, I just can’t throw."
For now, Bautista can hit, as he says there’s no pain when he swings, although he conceded taking regular at-bats probably slows the healing process. Still, he’s too valuable not be used at DH if he’s able, and Gibbons plans to find spots to rest the slugger, as he did in not starting him against Jimenez, versus whom he’s a career 2-for-29.
That left Bautista available to pinch hit in the seventh after Ezequiel Carrera’s second RBI double made it a 4-2 contest – Ryan Goins remained in the game when the Orioles stuck with Jimenez instead of bringing in Darren O’Day and the shortstop hit a liner that Delmon Young chased down in right field.
Then he found his way into the game with two on in the ninth, batting for Carrera against Zach Britton and grounding out to third.
"We were debating how do we want to save him," explained Gibbons. "We knew Britton was coming around, (in the seventh) the pitching coach went out there so you knew Jimenez was going to stay in there, and (using Bautista then) would have defeated the whole purpose, that’s why we gave him the night off, a big part of it. It worked out, he came to the plate as the tying run, it just didn’t work."
A crowd of 20,468 celebrated the win as the Orioles returned home for the first time since riots broke out amid protests over the death of Freddie Gray while in the custody of local police. The last game at Camden Yards was the April 29 contest versus the Chicago White Sox played with no one in the stands.
For the Orioles, and to some extent the city, the game was another step toward normalcy.
The Blue Jays, on the other hand, continue seeking their own normal, what with Kevin Pillar flanked in the outfield by Carrera and Chris Colabello (who had two hits), with Justin Smoak getting a rare start at first base after being relegated to the bench with Bautista taking up most of the at-bats at DH.
A full-go Bautista at the plate and in the field is certainly missed.
"I know how to deal with it," Bautista said of his injury, "it’s doing what I’m doing. The team wants me to hit, it doesn’t hurt me to swing, so I’m doing what the team wants. I want to swing, I want to be in the lineup, obviously I want to play defence, but I can’t throw."
Estrada, making his second start since being moved into the rotation from the bullpen, is also trying to get back to level from an arm-strength and stamina perspective. He made it through five frames and 96 pitches, getting burned by a Manny Machado leadoff shot and a two-run Chris Davis homer in a 34-pitch first, an early hole the Blue Jays couldn’t overcome.
Still, Estrada recovered to at least deliver five frames, and while the Orioles pushed him to several deep counts and weren’t set down three-up, three-down against him, he wasn’t in any major trouble.
"Obviously that first inning drained me a little bit, I’m not going to lie," said Estrada, also challenged by a steamy and humid night. "Once I got back in, came inside, cooled down, I felt pretty good. I still need to improve in that area, but that’s what these starts are for, and hopefully the next one I’ll feel much better and go deep into the game."
Using mostly his fastball and changeup while mixing in his curve, Estrada turned over the lineup 2½ times. He didn’t break out the cutter he’s been working on, a weapon that may help him be more efficient, because he’s not comfortable enough with it just yet.
"I could have used (the curveball) a little more," said Estrada. "It wasn’t quite there today, I threw some good ones, but most of the time it was slipping, I left a few of them up, and I wasn’t very happy with it. I’m going to need that pitch if I’m going to go three times, four times through the lineup, I’m going to have to use another pitch. We’re also hoping that’s where the cutter is going to come in, on days like today when you don’t have your curveball you can go to that.
"I still thought I threw some pretty good changeups, located most of the fastballs, I just have got to go deeper into the game."
He’s working at it, as is Daniel Norris, who allowed four runs, two earned, on five hits and three walks with seven strikeouts over 6.1 innings in triple-A Buffalo’s 9-4 win over Durham. He threw 103 pitches, 65 strikes, and the Blue Jays will likely want to see more similar outings before they decide the lefty prospect is where he needs to be.
Dalton Pompey, meanwhile, went 4-for-5 with a double, RBI and three runs scored in that game, and the Blue Jays are trying to get him back to himself as well, although Carrera and Colabello are certainly holding the fort nicely.
Regardless, this team right now isn’t how it was envisioned, and they’ll have a makeshift element to them until everything else comes together.