SEATTLE — At a certain point it doesn’t matter how well the Toronto Blue Jays pitch if they hit the way they did during their latest lost weekend, this time at T-Mobile Park against the Seattle Mariners.
They were shut out for the second straight day during a 4-0 loss Sunday afternoon to the National League West leaders, the rubber match in this ALCS rematch, and managed only two runs across the three games. Both of those came during the third inning of Friday’s 2-0 win and in the 24 innings that followed, the Blue Jays had just six hits and four walks.
Logan Gilbert was full value over 7.1 innings of one-hit ball Saturday and Emerson Hancock rode a heavy dose of fastballs (40 per cent) and sinkers (23 per cent) to another seven shutout frames in the finale, when he allowed only two hits and two walks.
Their woes at the plate made two blips by Trey Yesavage — a Cal Raleigh sacrifice fly in the third and Mitch Garver’s homer in the fourth, right after Cole Young reached on an Ernie Clement throwing error to cap an eight-pitch at-bat — feel insurmountable.
Yesavage deserved a better fate, getting through six innings while allowing only three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts, the fourth straight outing in which he’s allowed three earned runs or less. He did it this time largely on the strength of his fastball, which sat 94.2 m.p.h. and generated eight misses.
Success on only one side of the ball goes only so far and the Mariners were thoroughly stifling on the mound, dropping the Blue Jays back to their low point of six games below .500 at 42-48. They’re 3-9 since fighting their way back to the break-even point June 22 and have six games remaining before the all-star break to set themselves up for a better second half.
Kevin Gausman starts against Landen Roupp in Monday’s first of three against the San Francisco Giants, with three at San Diego afterwards leading into the all-star pause.
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