TORONTO — In a matter of seconds on Tuesday night, there was hope inside Rogers Centre before it was crudely snatched away.
With two outs in the ninth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays mounting a promising rally, Nathan Lukes sliced a ball to left field that plated two runs and then tried to stretch his hit into a double.
However, that proved costly as Lukes was gunned down at second base in what was the shocking ending of a 5-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals in front of 43,245 stunned fans.
Lukes’s miscue robbed the opportunity for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to come to the plate representing the tying run.
“You just want to be careful and get the tying run up there with the middle of the order coming,” said manager John Schneider. “I haven't talked to Lukie yet. He knows that. If it's going to be that close, just put the brakes on and try to keep the inning going.”
With the loss, Toronto (64-69) fell three games behind the Cleveland Guardians, who hold the third wild-card spot and beat the Los Angeles Angels in extra inningsTuesday night.
While the fateful final play will rightfully receive the most attention, it’s not like the Blue Jays executed a crisp contest. In the sixth inning, with runners on first and third and one out, Kyle Isbel laid a bunt down the first-base line. Guerrero Jr. charged in and bare-handed the ball before throwing it wide of Ernie Clement, who was covering first.
That botched play led to one run for the Royals, who added another in the frame to create some separation in what was to that point a tight contest.
“It's a game that wasn't clean after an off day,” said Schneider. “Those games happen. Unfortunately it happened tonight, but usually that's not how we play.”
The Blue Jays entered Tuesday with 30 games left to push for a playoff berth. Much has been made about the fact that none of those are against teams with winning records and the manager emphasized that regardless of the quality of competition, the Blue Jays need to focus on themselves.
“Not focus on any opponent, really,” said Schneider. “Haven't done that all year. I think it's just little things. It seems tough to get a hit with runners on right now. You want to have that category tick up a little bit, and then just playing clean, playing tight. We gave away some runs today and missed pitches to hit.
“So, as the game unfolds and you're not putting the runs up that you want, I think everyone wants to make something happen. But I think the biggest thing is just keeping the game where it should be and getting some hits with guys on.”
The lineup went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday, continuing an ugly trend from their weekend series in the Bronx. Toronto loaded the bases in the eighth inning against former Blue Jays hurler Nate Pearson, who proceeded to retire Clement on a weak fly out to centre to end the threat.
Meanwhile, the club’s pitching staff absorbed another blow with right-hander Shane Bieber landing on the injured list with right teres major inflammation retroactive to Aug. 21. Bieber was scheduled to start Wednesday against the Royals (59-74) and his absence will force the Blue Jays to pivot to a bullpen game, with Spencer Miles pitching as the opener.
“He was starting to really throw the ball well,” said Max Scherzer, Tuesday’s starter. “We're all frustrated and sad that he's [out]. It stinks just cause you feel for him and you want to see him out there pitching for us.
“But next man up,” continued the veteran right-hander. “We're in the thick of this and these next guys have a chance and they get to pitch in a playoff race.”
Scherzer struggled to find the strike zone out of the gate against the Royals. He loaded the bases in the first inning before inducing a double play off the bat of Salvador Perez that pushed across one run. In the fifth, Perez added a two-out RBI single off Scherzer that plated Bobby Witt Jr. and put the Royals up 2-1.
In total, Scherzer surrendered two runs on four hits over five innings, with four strikeouts and a season-high five walks. After returning from the injured list Scherzer has looked strong in August, allowing two runs or fewer in four of his five outings.
Asked what the Blue Jays need to do over the next month, he offered a one-word answer.
“Win.”
What will lead to those wins?
“Play well,” responded Scherzer. “Everybody’s got to play well. That's how you win ball games at the big-league level. Gotta pitch, gotta hit, gotta play defence, bullpen, bench guys, you name it. Everybody's gotta play well.”
