CHICAGO – About an hour after Saturday’s game ended, Tyler Heineman stood by his locker in a quiet visiting clubhouse at Rate Field.
The Toronto Blue Jays had just lost consecutive games to the Chicago White Sox, a far inferior team on paper, and Heineman, normally the team’s backup catcher, had figured prominently in both losses. He wiped tears from his eyes as he spoke.
“The last two games, those losses, they're on me,” he told Sportsnet. “You can sugarcoat it any way you want and say there's other things going on, but they're on me.”
A costly baserunning mistake by Heineman and a subsequent throwing error did figure prominently in the Blue Jays’ 6-3 loss to the White Sox. But while Heineman was willing to accept full responsibility for the two defeats it’s unfortunately not that simple for the Blue Jays.
An underwhelming offensive performance contributed to the loss as did another poor showing from Brendon Little, whose grasp on a roster spot appears to be slipping. It was, unfortunately, a team effort.
“We’re eight games into the season and we've had some games that scream ‘not us,’” said manager John Schneider. “When we play (like) us, we are good. So, we’ve got to get back to it.”
The Blue Jays are now assured of series losses against both the Rockies and White Sox and what appeared to be a forgiving week on the schedule has largely been squandered.
“There's been some things that are magnified,” Schneider said. “The more you dwell on it and the more you say ‘woe is me,’ the worse you're going to get. They're very well aware of the standard that is set here and the expectations that we hold and what we think is important. And when you don't hit those, we're going to have to have some more conversations.”
Big picture, yes, this is a talented group with a respectable 4-4 record and 154 games remaining. But this has still been an exceptionally difficult week, especially since injuries to Cody Ponce and Alejandro Kirk are further testing the Blue Jays’ depth, with Kirk officially hitting the injured list due to a fractured left thumb Saturday.
Midway through the sixth inning, the Blue Jays looked to be turning the momentum around. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had just homered to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead, but Little entered the game and immediately got into trouble.
Miguel Vargas doubled off Little to lead off the sixth and the next hitter, Munetaka Murakami, hit a no-doubt home run to centre field. Two batters later, Colson Montgomery hit another home run, extending Chicago’s lead.
Little has now allowed more earned runs than outs recorded in three of his five appearances this season. More than half of the total hitters he has faced have reached base — often on hard contact. And while he’d ideally neutralize left-handed hitters, both hitters to homer off him Saturday bat left-handed.
The case for optioning him to the minors to revisit his mechanics and build some confidence has never been stronger.
“We’ve got to figure it out,” Schneider said when asked about the reliever. “We’re going to try to put the best team out there every single day, so we’ll definitely sit down and talk about it.”
Otherwise, the Blue Jays’ pitching was strong Saturday with Lazaro Estrada providing four scoreless, hitless innings. And after narrowly missing his first home run of the season in the fourth inning, Guerrero Jr. hit a no-doubter into the left field bleachers in the sixth.
Still, the Blue Jays cost themselves a chance for further damage from Guerrero Jr. in the seventh when Heineman was caught trying to advance to third on a sacrifice fly. Making the third out at third is a baseball no-no, especially with a hitter like Guerrero Jr. on deck.
"It's just the wrong play," Heineman said. "It's inexcusable."
“We can’t do that,” Schneider added. “It’s as simple as that. Heineman knows that. Everyone in the dugout and everyone in the stands probably knows that.”
Later, Heineman's tough day would continue as he threw a ball into shallow left field during a rundown, allowing the White Sox to add two unearned runs. He said afterwards that his errant throw late in Friday’s game weighed heavily on him Saturday.
“I just need to find a way to not let this stuff snowball,” he said. “And I just got to take ownership of it.”
Before the game, the Blue Jays placed Kirk on the injured list with a fractured left thumb, an injury that will sideline him for weeks to come. A visit with Dr. Thomas J. Graham Monday will help determine next steps and timelines for Kirk, who’d ideally avoid surgery.
Considering his impact on the team’s offence and pitching staff, the loss of Kirk will be significant for however long he’s on the sidelines, but the Blue Jays are hoping Brandon Valenzuela can help minimize the impact of his absence alongside Heineman.
Acquired from the Padres for Will Wagner last summer, the 25-year-old Valenzuela hit 15 total home runs in the minor leagues last year while earning a reputation as a strong defender. With Kirk playing at the World Baseball Classic this spring, Valenzuela got plenty of time with Blue Jays pitchers, which should help him transition smoothly at the MLB level.
All told, rival scouts consider Valenzuela’s skillset MLB-ready. More to the point, the Blue Jays do, which is why he’ll start Sunday in the series finale with Eric Lauer starting.
When the emotions calm down a little, 154 games will still remain on the schedule. To make sure they take full advantage of them, the Blue Jays must collectively find a way to play a cleaner game.
“Those mistakes cannot happen,” Schneider said. “Whether it’s April, October or November. Those mistakes can’t happen.”
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