John Mayberry Jr.’s first home run as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t have come at a better time.
Trailing by one run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told Mayberry to step in against Jake McGee, the dominant Tampa Bay Rays closer. On a 1-2 count Mayberry hit a game-tying home run, electrifying the crowd of 28,633 and becoming just the second batter of the season to homer off of McGee.
One inning later, however, it was over.
The Rays (72-78) rallied off of Brandon Morrow and Brett Cecil in the 10th inning to win 6-5 and damage Toronto’s chances of extending their late-season push for the playoffs. The Blue Jays (77-71) made things interesting, but with just 14 games remaining, they’re running out of time.
“We don’t like the position we’re in,” starter Mark Buehrle said. “I think we all know we’re not in a good position. We need help from other teams, but at the same time we have to worry about ourself and try to win the games we’re playing. I’d like to sit here and say we’re a better position, but we’re not.”
Buehrle wasn’t at his sharpest for the Blue Jays, who have now received at least six innings from their starters for a club-record 20 consecutive games.
The Rays picked up nine hits and four runs against Buehrle, whose defence let him down at times. Technically, the Blue Jays played error-free baseball Sunday, but in reality defensive misplays cost them.
In the fourth inning, Jose Bautista missed a fly ball off the bat of Wil Myers, who would come around to score later that frame. The play was scored a double, but Bautista would ordinarily catch it easily. This time he lost sight of the ball in the sun. “You can’t catch something you can’t see,” he said.
Later in the game, a young fan caught a ball that Bautista would have been able to catch by reaching into the stands. While Bautista had a clear read on the ball, he didn’t fault the fan for making the grab.
The missed chances on defence didn’t end there. Third baseman Danny Valencia couldn’t come up with a line drive in the fifth and shortstop Jose Reyes bobbled a ground ball in the seventh.
That’s not to say it was all bad for Blue Jays defenders. Ryan Goins provided his usual strong defence, throwing out Brandon Guyer at third base with a strong relay. Bautista made a difficult catch in the first inning and another nice grab in the ninth.
Still, Buehrle is a pitch-to-contact starter who relies on the defenders behind him. Toronto’s missed plays proved costly for a team with an ever-diminishing margin for error. The Blue Jays, who began the day with a 4.0 percent chance of reaching the playoffs, now head on the road to Baltimore and New York. An extra-innings loss was not the way Gibbons wanted to wrap up the homestand.
“Those are always tough, but this time of year, considering where we’re at, it’s especially tough,” he said.
Bautista had a different take, resisting the notion that this loss hurt more than others.
“No. Totally opposite,” he said. “We gave it our best. We came back and tied, we just couldn’t pull through in the end.”
Now it’s a matter of building on that comeback against division rivals.
“We’re playing great baseball,” Bautista said. “The last four games that we’ve lost have all been by one run. We’re battling.”
Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind both homered for the second consecutive day to help the Blue Jays make things close. Colby Rasmus got a rare start in centre field but struck out three times.
Mayberry, a lifetime .273/.324/.535 batter against left-handed pitching, already had six career pinch-hit home runs entering play Sunday. His seventh showed the Blue Jays decision makers that he has the makings of an interesting potential bench piece for 2015.
“That’s what he does,” Gibbons said, noting that Mayberry will likely start Monday. “He’s spent a lot of years in the big leagues doing that. We needed something to happen.”
Big picture, Mayberry’s homer is encouraging, but it’s no substitute for what the Blue Jays need most of all: wins.