TORONTO — John Gibbons rarely makes mound visits just to talk things over, especially in the first inning of a ball game. Usually, that’s pitching coach Pete Walker’s territory. Yet with Jaime Garcia 21 pitches into his outing Wednesday night, having just hit Kyle Seager on the arm to load the bases with a run already in, out ambled the Toronto Blue Jays manager and when he got to the bump, he had some things to say.
“Throw the damn ball over the plate — simple, but it’s not quite that simple,” Gibbons said of his message that seemed to spark Garcia, who promptly caught Ryon Healy looking to end the first. The left-hander surrendered just one unearned run over the next four innings in a five-and-dive outing that actually marked progress. Keeping things tight came in handy when the Blue Jays rallied for four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning for a steadying 5-2 comeback win over the Seattle Mariners.
“He settled in and did a nice job,” said Gibbons. “The thing he needs to realize is he has such great movement on his pitches, right, there are times he tries to be a little too fine, maybe hit spots too much, where, hey, throw it over the plate and let it do what it wants to do. The catchers will tell you, that ball is going everywhere, and he can use that to his advantage. Shoot for the bigger part of the plate and let the ball do what it’s going to do.”
The victory was a needed pick-me-up amid what is becoming a precarious period for the Blue Jays (20-17), who were facing multiple problems on the field even before closer Roberto Osuna was arrested and charged with the assault of a woman Tuesday.
Hours after that news broke, the team was no-hit by James Paxton for a fifth loss in seven outings. Another loss Wednesday would have only piled on further.
“It was a big win for us,” said Tyler Clippard, who handled the ninth in Osuna’s absence for his first save. “We needed to bounce back, (Tuesday) was a big blow in a lot of ways for our team. It was nice to bounce back and get the win, big for the ball club and it felt good.”
A couple of weeks ago, the conversation around the team centred around all the surplus on the roster and how to handle it, and now, their roster is stocked with rookies and reinforcements.
While Teoscar Hernandez has thrived — he had three more hits including his sixth homer Wednesday, a solo shot in the fourth that cut into a 2-0 deficit — Lourdes Gurriel Jr. suddenly finds himself as the everyday shortstop. While he’s had his moments and doesn’t look out of place, the Blue Jays may be risking asking too much of him too soon, although he made a strong throw in the first to cut down Jean Segura at home, helping contain the damage.
On the flip side, Gurriel was doubled off at second when he took off on a Dalton Pompey liner that was caught, ending a potential rally in the third.
“He’s made some great plays since he’s been here. He’s going to make mistakes, he’s a young kid still learning at this level but he’s doing a lot of good things,” said Gibbons. “There are times he’s going to mess up. That’s part of establishing yourself in the big leagues. Maybe not the base-running play. That shouldn’t happen.”
Rookie Richard Urena is the backup infielder with Aledmys Diaz on the disabled list with a sprained right ankle, and the need for depth prompted the Blue Jays to acquire Gio Urshela, recently designated for assignment by Cleveland, for cash. He’ll join the team once his Canadian work visa is set and take over the backup role.
Pompey and Anthony Alford are also up with Steve Pearce and Randal Grichuk still on the disabled list and it’s likely to be at least two weeks before any of them return.
Young players, regardless of their talent level, are unproven commodities and they’ll be tested during a tough stretch of schedule through the end of the month, which includes one more game against Seattle, six dates with the Boston Red Sox and three with the Los Angeles Angels.
An extended period of struggle during the upcoming weeks could alter the course of their season, which is why the eighth-inning rally resonated. Josh Donaldson, Yangervis Solarte and Justin Smoak hit consecutive doubles to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead, while RBI singles from Kevin Pillar and Luke Maile helped pad the advantage.
“We were able to kind of steal that momentum and carry it over until the final out,” said Donaldson.
Aside from the social implications, which far outweigh matters on the field, Osuna’s absence also removes a critical piece of the Blue Jays’ bullpen structure. Needing to keep things tight and then lock down a late lead, Gibbons used, in order, Seunghwan Oh, John Axford, Ryan Tepera and Clippard behind Garcia.
Graced with a 5-2 lead, Clippard allowed a Ben Gamel leadoff single before closing things out for his first save.
“Basically we’re doing it by committee right now and I was told to be ready from the seventh to the ninth,” said Clippard. “I’m used to that, it’s one of those things I’ve done in my career a lot.”
Sorting out the bullpen will be academic if the rotation doesn’t straighten out, which may be why Gibbons decided to pay Garcia a mound visit. The left-hander and Marcus Stroman both need to get untracked, and since they’re back-to-back in the rotation, the Blue Jays can’t afford to get short outings from both if they aim to keep their bullpen fresh and effective.
He had allowed 13 earned runs in his last 13.2 innings over his previous three starts and was in danger of letting another outing unravel on him.
“He asked me if I was okay and he told me to trust my stuff and go right after them,” Garcia said of Gibbons’ words. “Unfortunately I walked a guy, hit a guy, things happened, it didn’t go my way early on, but I was able to get out of that inning, I was able to keep us in the ball game and the biggest thing is we were able to win the game.”
Garcia’s line was far from a work of art, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits and five walks versus three strikeouts in five innings. But he found a starting point, providing a boost for a team that was in need of one.
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