TORONTO — Jose Berrios stood in front of the rubber on the mound and lowered his chin to his chest while slowly swiping at the dirt with his right leg. Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider was making the walk from the dugout and so there were a few long seconds where it seemed as if Berrios was on an island by himself.
The right-hander had just watched Corey Seager’s home run, a high, 336-foot shot that resembled a fly ball, barely make it over the fence and now his day was over.
The Texas Rangers jumped on a struggling Berrios in Sunday’s 10-4 win over the Blue Jays in front of another sellout crowd of 42,549 at Rogers Centre. The loss snapped Toronto’s three-game win streak and also extended a stretch of underperformance from Berrios.
Entering Sunday, the veteran right-hander had only reached 90 pitches once in his last eight starts. During that span, Berrios posted a 4.95 ERA and 5.26 FIP with 44 hits over 40 innings and saw an increase in his hard-hit rate, which rose from 29.5 per cent over his first 17 starts to 39.7 over the next eight.
Those numbers only got worse on Sunday.
Berrios surrendered a two-run homer to Marcus Semien in the second inning and then, in the fourth, the Rangers strung together a series of two-out hits against him. Semien scorched a double to right field while Jake Burger and Jonah Heim collected run-scoring singles in the Rangers’ three-run inning.
Then came Seager’s towering homer in the fifth that spelled the end for Berrios. In total, the right-hander allowed six runs on 10 hits over 4.1 innings, with no walks and two strikeouts. He tossed 87 pitches (56 strikes) and featured velocity that was down across the board — most notably, his four-seam fastball sat at 92.4 m.p.h. on Sunday, down from its season average of 93 m.p.h.
“I'm fresh and healthy, so just turn the page,” Berrios said.
The right-hander acknowledged he had trouble finishing off Rangers hitters on Sunday. Seven of the 10 hits he allowed came with two strikes.
“I have to figure out and make adjustments on that and make better pitches,” said Berrios.
The right-hander couldn't consistently locate his breaking balls and Schneider said the club will look at what adjustments Berrios can make and examine if there are changes that can be made to sequencing or catcher set-up.
As for how Berrios is handling this rough stretch, the manager has no concerns.
“There's been ups and downs for him and a lot of guys and I think, over the course of some of those dull stretches for him, we're still winning a lot of games and he's finding a way to keep us in games, too,” said Schneider. “He's the same guy every single day.”
Meanwhile, Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi continued his dominant season by supressing the Blue Jays’ lineup. Alejandro Kirk tagged him for a solo shot in the second frame and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did the same in the sixth inning with his 21st homer of the season and fifth in his past 11 games. However, that was it.
Eovaldi worked off his cutter and splitter while mixing in four other pitches to keep the Blue Jays’ bats quiet. He allowed just two runs on five hits over seven frames and now sports a miniscule 1.76 ERA across 21 starts.
George Springer, in his second game back after returning from the concussion injured list, launched a mammoth 434-foot, two-run homer off Rangers reliever Hoby Milner in the eighth, but the deficit was too deep for the Blue Jays to author their 40th comeback win of the campaign.
Berrios’s struggles come at a time where the Blue Jays are facing a decision with their rotation. Shane Bieber is poised to be activated this week following his rehab stint and that will leave the Blue Jays with six starting pitchers for five spots.
The club could opt to go with a six-man rotation, or it could choose to offer a period of rest to its starters.
“I think whenever you can get guys extra rest, it's always important, especially this time of year,” said Schneider. “But, at the same time, you're trying to win every single game you can. We got some plans in place as we get closer to that.”
That will be revealed soon and while Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt and Eric Lauer are all healthy, there’s a case to be made for potentially offering a breather to members of the group.
“Honestly I don't know what's going to happen,” said Berrios. “But yeah, [Bieber’s] going to come. He's ready. He's healthy. So, he's ready to help us accomplish our goal. Hopefully we can keep pitching the way we're pitching.”
Asked if he would be OK in his routine if the club were to implement a six-man rotation, Berrios responded, “Whatever they [ask from] us, I'll be able to do it.”
He also added something to consider about six-mans.
“The only difference is when we get to the playoffs,” said Berrios. “We don't have too many off days and extra days [then] so having six days off at the end of the season, then coming back to throw every four or five days in the playoffs are going to be different. But right now, if we get extra, it's going to be good.”
Berrios, who’s never missed a start in his career, has logged the second-most innings in MLB since 2018, with his 1,348 innings trailing only Zack Wheeler’s 1,356.2. That’s a heavy amount of mileage on the right-hander’s arm and how it factors into the remaining six weeks of the season will be something to monitor and a piece of the puzzle the Blue Jays will have to contemplate.
