Blue Jays offence unable to contribute once again in loss to Rays

TAMPA, Fla. — When a team’s starting rotation, offence and bullpen are clicking at the same time, good things happen. That’s obviously the recipe for success in the majors and the Toronto Blue Jays experienced that earlier this week during a three-game sweep over the San Diego Padres.

However, unfortunately for the Blue Jays, that’s rarely been the case this year and it’s the reason the club has spent weeks flirting with the .500 mark.

On Saturday night, the club’s offence was once again off kilter, leading to a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The pitching staff did its part, just like it did during Friday night’s 3-1 defeat, yet Blue Jays’ hitters couldn’t muster much against Rays hurlers as the club fell to 25-26.

“The same script,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. 

Toronto starter Jose Berrios walked Josh Lowe in the opening frame and Brandon Lowe followed by smoking a 107.6-m.p.h. ground-rule double to right-centre field. Junior Caminero then brought home both runners with a three-run homer on a 2-1 slurve in the middle of the zone. 

Toronto starter Jose Berrios walked Josh Lowe in the opening frame and Brandon Lowe followed by smoking a 107.6-m.p.h. ground-rule double to right-centre field. Junior Caminero then brought home both runners with a three-run homer on a 2-1 slurve in the middle of the zone. 

That was the extent of damage to Berrios, though. The right-hander immediately turned the page and retired the next 13 batters he faced and 17 of 18. It was truly impressive work from Berrios, who delivered his 27th-quality start since the beginning of last season, tying him with aces Tarik Skubal and Hunter Brown for the second most in the American League, behind Seth Lugo (28). 

“I just missed a few pitches in the first inning and I paid for that,” Berrios said. 

Berrios allowed the three runs off three hits, walking one, striking out three and expending 95 pitches over his six frames. His velocity was down across the board and his stuff wasn’t as sharp as usual, but Berrios refused to blame the hot weather or accompanying sweat.

“I didn’t have a lot of power but I did command my pitches both sides of the plate, down in the zone, and I got a lot of ground balls, so I feel pretty good about it,” he said. 

“That's what a veteran pitcher does,” said Schneider. “He found a way to get through it. And, he got better as he went on.”

Berrios deserved a better fate, but the Blue Jays offence was stifled by Rays starter Shane Baz and a trio of relievers. 

They loaded the bases off Baz with two outs in the second frame, but Nathan Lukes grounded the ball to the 5-6 hole and Caminero, the Rays’ third baseman, made an excellent pick for the second straight day before firing to second base to end the rally. 

In the third, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got a hanging knuckle curve from Baz and grounded it directly to Caminero for an easy out. While he was running to first, the Blue Jays slugger showed his displeasure by breaking his bat on his knee. 

In the sixth, though, he made things right.

Guerrero Jr. put the Blue Jays on the board by hammering a middle-middle changeup from Baz an estimated 423 feet into left field. The solo shot came off his bat at 112.7 m.p.h. and produced a sound that was heard by all 10,046 in attendance. 

However, that was it for the club’s offensive output. Of note, Anthony Santander returned to the Blue Jays’ starting lineup after battling shoulder and hip issues. He batted sixth and played right field, walking twice and recording two singles, one from each side of the plate. 

“That's a pretty encouraging sign,” said Schneider. “Walk, a couple knocks, finally got to see him hit right-handed. Feels like we haven't seen that happen in about a month. But yeah, he kinda checked every box.”  

In fairness to the Blue Jays, the Rays have played excellent defence this series, stealing several hits, including in Saturday’s eighth inning when Kameron Misner covered 66 feet in centre before making an impressive sliding grab (with a 15-per-cent catch probability, no less) to rob Daulton Varsho. 

Nonetheless, that won’t give the Blue Jays any solace. 

“They do that all the time,” said Schneider. “I feel like whether it's here or at the Trop, they're a good defensive team. Being unlucky kind of happens and that comes and goes, but they pride themselves on pitching and defence. They have for a long time.”

That’s a key ingredient in the Rays’ recipe for winning games and, to this point in the season, the Blue Jays can say their bullpen has overall been the most consistent area of their team. The group ranks second in MLB with 222 strikeouts, fourth in opponents’ batting average (.209) and 11^th in ERA (3.60). 

That strength will be tested given the news on Saturday that reliever Yimi Garcia was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder impingement. The issue didn't arise from one pitch or outing, but rather gradually began to affect him, according to Schneider, who added that the right-hander will travel to Toronto to visit with doctors. 

In the meantime, the plan for leverage innings will include the increasingly impressive Yariel Rodriguez, along with Brendon Little and Chad Green. 

Garcia has been a steadying presence in the Blue Jays’ bullpen and has posted a 3.15 ERA with 24 strikeouts over 20 innings. His absence is significant considering that Garcia was the primary option to save games in place of closer Jeff Hoffman, who has struggled this month. 

Reinforcement could come in the form of reliever Erik Swanson, with the right-hander set to pitch in a rehab appearance in Buffalo on Tuesday. If that goes well, he could rejoin the team. 

That will be helpful as the pitching staff’s ability to navigate this sudden concern is needed while the offence looks to find its footing again and avoid nights like Saturday. 

“Same exact thing as yesterday,” said Schneider.