TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays had hoped for a boost at the trade deadline that didn’t come, and now their wish for reinforcements remains tantalizing as Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion continue to recover from injury.
Each day is like a swivel between progress and setback, such as the three-inning tease Brett Lawrie provided between stops on the disabled list, Encarnacion getting close before a step back two weeks ago, or Lind’s back tightening after his first rehab game, although it’s not thought to be serious.
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The latter two could both be back by the end of next week, or not, and in between the swings, the Blue Jays keep grinding and waiting, trying to stay close until they can be strong and whole again.
“I think everybody is looking forward to them returning, but the only reason we talk about it is because you guys (media) ask every day,” manager John Gibbons said before the game. “The other guys are doing a pretty good job, you know? I mean, they’re a key to this team, it gives our offence a little different look, but quit asking and we won’t talk about it.”
Well, even if they don’t talk about it, you can bet they’ll be thinking about it, especially after the way they collapsed late in a jarring 5-4 loss to the slumping Detroit Tigers on Friday night.
Closer Casey Janssen gave up a two-run homer to Nick Castellanos and a solo shot to Eugenio Suarez back-to-back in the ninth, blowing a 4-2 lead R.A. Dickey, Dustin McGowan and Brett Cecil nursed to that point. It was just the third time he’d ever allowed two homers in an outing as a reliever.
“They beat me,” said Janssen, who since the all-star break has allowed nine earned runs over 8.1 innings in 10 outings. “Castellanos is an aggressive guy early, I wanted to throw a curveball in there, it wasn’t terrible and he blasted it out of there. (Suarez), down and away, my bread and butter, and he blasted that thing out to centre. I tip my cap to them.”
The Blue Jays had a shot in the bottom of the ninth as they loaded the bases against Joe Nathan with two out, but Rajai Davis made a sliding catch on a Josh Thole foul popper to end it.
“We’re still looking for that little magic,” lamented Gibbons.
Good teams must win such games, the way the AL East leading Baltimore Orioles beat the Blue Jays 2-1 on Thursday, but with Encarnacion or Lind in the lineup, some opportunities to really put the contest out of the Tigers’ reach might have been capitalized on.
Instead, a sixth loss in seven games to open a potentially-season altering stretch against the AL Central leaders and the Seattle Mariners was like a punch in the stomach for the Blue Jays (61-56), although as Dickey noted after tiring from a persistent line of questioning, every game counts.
“You’ve got start thinking outside of that line of this is a must-win, or does it hurt that much more, they all hurt, from here on in, it all matters,” said Dickey. “It mattered back in May when we were losing a game or winning a game, it matters, it always matters.
“So try to wrap your arms around the fact that every game matters, and it hurts to lose from here on out because we’re in it. But we’ve got a lot of games left, so no one can pout.”
Adding to the frustration is that before a raucous crowd of 36,237, Dickey was strong in allowing only two runs over six-bend-but-don’t-break innings, while some of “the other guys” Gibbons praised played instrumental roles against the Tigers (63-50).
Danny Valencia opened the scoring with two-out RBI single in the first, Munenori Kawasaki’s generously scored double off J.D. Martinez’s glove in left field was cashed in by Ryan Goins’ squeeze bunt in the second, while RBI singles by Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista later in the frame made it a 4-0 game.
Dioner Navarro, who had three hits, and Valencia failed to keep the second going against Anibal Sanchez, who left in the fifth with a right pectoralis strain, and the Blue Jays didn’t score again despite having other chances.
Dickey gave a pair back in the third when he walked Suarez to open the frame, Davis doubled and Ian Kinsler cashed both in with a single, but he settled from there and kept things in check.
Valencia went 2-for-5 and batted for himself in the ninth inning against right-handed Nathan. He struck out in that at-bat, but Gibbons said before the game that they plan to give Valencia a shot to play more regularly against righties, against whom he has a career .623 OPS.
“He’s got some hits off some right-handers since he’s been here,” explained Gibbons. “(Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer) has talked to him, I know he’s told Seitz everybody wanted him to hit more long-balls, so he kind of got away from his whole field type approach, he thinks that hurt him a bit. He’s got some whip in that bat and he’s a strong guy. Give him a shot.
“Plus with Brett out now, we’ll see how that third base spot plays out.”
That, of course, is the challenge right now for the Blue Jays, figuring out how different spots play out while they wait, with increasing impatience, for Encarnacion and Lind to return.