TORONTO – The momentum built by the Toronto Blue Jays during a 12-4 stretch against their primary American League East rivals over the past three weeks was interrupted by the Philadelphia Phillies, of all teams, in a 7-0 decision Monday night.
Jerad Eickhoff spotted his fastball and flashed an impressive curveball over six innings of three-hit ball, while R.A. Dickey was burned for a couple of wall-scrapers by Odubel Herrera and Ryan Howard before the bullpen allowed a pair of inherited runners, and then more, to score.
After a gruelling weekend versus the Baltimore Orioles, a dud isn’t necessarily surprising.
“Today was kind of a letdown, I don’t think we played with a lot of energy,” said Dickey, who pitched well over 6.1 frames. “We’ve had a lot of games recently where we’ve been very invested against divisional opponents, it’s plausible that would seem the case. You play the Phillies, they don’t have a winning record, it was just a low-energy day for us all around it felt like. Thank goodness it only counts for one loss, it feels like a lot worse, but it still stings.”
Still, in repositioning themselves in the standings with their work against the Orioles, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, the Blue Jays moved toward the type of quality baseball they played consistently last season. Issues remain, primarily in the bullpen, but the turnaround that started May 19 when Jose Bautista moved into the leadoff spot seems to have transformed the club.
“I think we’ve taken the whole ego and individual aspect of success out of it, everybody has put that on the backburner which is great for the team and just focused on doing what’s right for the team regardless of what situation we have in front of us,” Bautista said in an interview before going 1-for-4 as the DH after three days off with quad tightness. “I think that’s a better approach and everybody would agree with me, that’s something that a winning team with a lot of veteran players will tell you, you put yourself second. You put the team and the need to win as a priority, your individual situation will take care of itself after that, not necessarily the other way around.
“Everybody was trying hard to get off to a good start, since we didn’t, we kind of pressed a little bit,” he added, “but those days have come and gone and we’ve hit a good stride here in June. Hopefully we can continue to play that way, especially in the crucial moments, high-threshold situations.”
Manager John Gibbons said before the game that Bautista would remain in the leadoff spot until someone displaced him from the role, and with Devon Travis still finding his way since returning from his shoulder injury (he took a good step forward by going 2-for-4 Monday), it might be a while.
There are no other obvious candidates for the job, and Gibbons doesn’t want to mess with what’s mostly been a successful formula.
“I’m fine with staying there if that’s what needs to happen, I’m also fine with moving back,” said Bautista. “The biggest thing was to change the dynamic of how teams were attacking us, we did that and we’re on a good roll. Whether that means I should stay there or not, that’s up to Gibby to decide. I don’t think it’s a bad thing when the leaders of a team come together and propose ideas to the manager to force the opposition to change the way they’re attacking you. I feel like it’s worked to our advantage and we’re having success. Why change anything?”
The added benefit of Bautista remaining in the leadoff spot is the example his willingness to move from the three-hole despite the potential impact on his numbers in a free-agent season sets for his teammates.
If he’s putting the team first, there’s excuse for others not to do the same.
“I did feel like that was one of the subliminal messages that the rest of the players would get if one of the leaders was to sacrifice himself and remove himself from his comfort zone and put himself in a position to do what’s right for the team,” said Bautista. “I can’t say or point to that being the only thing or the most important thing, but everybody is focusing better and taking everything else out of the account and figuring out what’s in front of them when they go up to the plate and when we’re on defence and trying to execute for the team.”
It’s not going to happen every night, and Monday was a blip, but the Blue Jays may have finally turned the corner in recent weeks, and now have something to build on.