TORONTO — Late in Sunday afternoon’s game at Rogers Centre, the vice grip had loosened on the Toronto Blue Jays. Then, minutes later, it tightened right back up.
In the eighth inning, Nathan Lukes launched a game-tying, two-run homer that sent the crowd of 40,898 into a frenzy. It offered needed momentum to the Blue Jays and put the team in a position to snap their extended losing skid.
Closer Louis Varland was handed the ball and looked dominant while striking out the first two batters in the ninth. However, the good vibes disappeared as quickly as they arrived when Josh Jung doubled and pinch-runner Jarred Kelenic scored from second on a wild pitch that caromed off the home-plate umpire and toward the visitors’ dugout.
The Blue Jays couldn’t counterpunch in the bottom of the frame, and with that, the 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers stood out as one of the more painful defeats of the campaign.
“Last thing you expect,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “We've been through those swings before where it's real high, then real low in a game. But not what you expected, for sure.”
“That's a very rare way to lose the game,” said right-hander Shane Bieber.
Toronto (39-45) has now lost six straight, matching a season high, and sits 2.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners, who currently hold the third American League wild-card spot.
The Blue Jays’ entire season has been filled with equal steps forward and back. However, this stretch has been concerning given that it's featured red flags for both the pitching staff and lineup.
All six of the losses have been close games. Three were decided by one run, while two were by two runs, scores that underline the fact that the Blue Jays aren’t producing the key hits.
“Obviously, we're not getting any offence going early in games,” said Schneider. “That's well-documented and that's something we talk about almost daily in terms of what we can control in terms of prep and what we can control in terms of adjusting as the game goes.”
Of course, any conversation about the offence must include the continued struggles of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who went hitless in four at-bats on Sunday, dropping his OPS to .697.
Guerrero Jr. wasn’t in the clubhouse following Sunday's loss and Schneider said that after Saturday’s game, he spent time with the first baseman as he took extra swings in the batting cage.
“I'm not going to bench him,” said Schneider. “I think there's always a time when a guy needs a little bit of a break, whether it's physically, mentally, whatever it is. It's no secret we're going to need Vlad if we want to be good. He knows that, we know that, so I think my job is to make sure his work is good, his mindset is good.
“He's actually good,” added Schneider. “I always say, you want some players to be good liars to a manager in terms of how they're feeling. And Vlad's been an open book with me. I've pressed, I've asked him a few times in the last couple of weeks and he's good. I can't imagine what it is to be Vlad. And the pressure that comes with it, the expectations that come with it.”
Compounding matters for the Blue Jays are the continued struggles of the starting rotation, which has put the team behind early in each of the past six games. Bieber, making his second start since returning from the injured list, continued the trend when he surrendered a homer to Joc Pederson on the first pitch of the game. The right-hander proceeded to load the bases but pitched out of the tricky spot by inducing a force out at home and a punchout.
After allowing some hard contact in the second, he made a mechanical adjustment and settled down considerably over the next three innings, before running into trouble again in the sixth. In total, Bieber allowed two runs on five hits over 5.1 frames, with four walks and strikeouts on 92 pitches.
“Obviously, the game didn't start in an ideal fashion but was able to bounce back and put up some competitive innings,” said Bieber. “So, I was happy with that. It was definitely some progress and a step in the right direction relative to my first outing.”
As for the state of the club, Bieber said there’s obvious frustration among the players.
“We all sense what's going on. It's been some tough and emotional losses,” he said. “We're just going through it a little bit and we're being tested and I know we'll respond.”
That response must come soon, of course, and the Blue Jays will get an opportunity to flush the tough loss and take a needed step forward on Monday in the opener with a three-game series against Bo Bichette and the free-falling New York Mets.
“The guys in the clubhouse are going to continue to fight and they're going to continue to work to get better, and probably every one of them is better than what they've been so far,” said Schneider. “That's what you cling to, and you got to go out and do it.”
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