TORONTO – The good times from last October still reverberate at Rogers Centre, in the banner that hangs from the rafters, from the new American League East champions logo on the wall in centre field, among the fans with expectations of another wild ride in 2016.
And so the Toronto Blue Jays returned to play at home for the first time since Marco Estrada extended last year’s ALCS with a Game 5 gem against the Kansas City Royals, with a new dirt infield on the ground, Marcus Stroman on the mound, and a hurting Josh Donaldson in the lineup.
George Bell was in the house to present the AL MVP award, 1987 over to 2015. Retired president and CEO Paul Beeston threw out the ceremonial first pitch. "We want to be the real thing, we want to make this last," John Gibbons said before the game, and a sellout crowd of 48,871 relished the festivities. More celebrations seemed imminent when Donaldson’s grand slam capped a six-run fourth.
Then the roof caved in, suddenly, quickly.
Stroman, whose sinker was ruthless in Sunday’s season-opener at Tampa Bay, wasn’t sharp and his pitches were up in the sixth inning. A double and two walks loaded the bases, and that was his night. Jesse Chavez promptly served up a grand slam to Brock Holt that cut into a 7-2 lead. An inning later, Drew Storen allowed two of the three batters he faced to reach, Brett Cecil then surrendered back-to-back RBI singles to David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez and the Blue Jays couldn’t recover in an 8-7 loss.
With three straight bullpen implosions allowing late leads to slip away, the beginning of 2016 is becoming worryingly reminiscent of the start of 2015, in particular for Cecil, who gave up the decisive two-run homer in the eighth inning Tuesday, as well.
"JD just asked me how I was feeling, I said, ‘Not too good, two times in a row I’ve been out there giving up a lead,’" said Cecil, who is having a tough time locating his curveball, a key pitch for him. "It’s never going to feel good, but physically it just takes me a little bit to get back in a rhythm, back into what my good mechanics are. You can look at all the video you want, but I think I say it every year, you’ve got to keep pitching, the manager has to keep calling your name and it just takes one where you feel good, you hit your spots nine times out of 10, and from there it snowballs in a good way."
The Blue Jays are counting on that, and track record says the relief corps is significantly better than the way they’ve pitched. At the moment, however, nursing a lead to closer Roberto Osuna is an issue.
Complicating matters is that left-hander Franklin Morales felt "weakness" in his shoulder while warming in the sixth, and was immediately sat down. That left him unavailable for a stretch of three lefties in four batters – a perfect spot for him – and Gibbons had to use Chavez against Holt instead.
"We haven’t pitched particularly well lately, that’s for sure," said Gibbons. "But they’re good. They’ll fall in line a little bit. We really anticipated they were going to be one of our strengths. It just hasn’t happened yet."
Few things suck the life from teams like blown leads, and watching a win wither away drained much of the pre-game romance that had developed around the home opener. "You’re going to look at a sea of parents and kids, grandparents and grandkids," president and CEO Mark Shapiro said beforehand. "Opening day is that day that rekindles the bond with baseball, the love for the game."
There was lots of love early as Stroman mowed through the Red Sox in the top of the first and Edwin Encarnacion cashed in Kevin Pillar’s leadoff triple with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half. RBI doubles by Holt in the second and Ortiz in the third put the visitors up 2-1.
A methodical fourth against Joe Kelly restored order.
Consecutive singles by Michael Saunders, Russell Martin, Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney tied the game before Kelly hit Pillar on the bill of the helmet to bring in another run. Donaldson – limited to DH duties because a right calf strain ("It’s probably the smart thing to do … we’re thinking long-term," said Gibbons) – then ripped a first pitch slider over the wall in left for a 7-2 edge.
"It actually progressed a little bit throughout the game," Donaldson said of his calf. "I was able to kind of run a little bit more down the line than I was initially thinking. The tell-tale sign’s going to be how I feel in the morning. And hopefully I’ll be able to get on the field (Saturday)."
Stroman held it with a clean fifth but couldn’t get back down in the zone in the sixth. He allowed five runs on six hits and three walks in 5.1 innings. "Just overall my command just was not there," he said. "I had three walks which is very uncharacteristic of me."
Regardless, by the time all was said and done, the Blue Jays could only look longingly at the way the Red Sox relievers held the game in check much in the same way the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen did earlier in the week.
They’re batting .149 from the sixth inning onwards so far.
"Every year the place has been packed and everybody is cheering but this year obviously it’s a little bit different with unveiling the banner on the wall, seeing the banner hanging up on top of the roof," said Cecil. "We’re playing with a bigger target on our back this year. I feel like this team is up for anything, a lot of guys enjoy having the target on their back – the bullpen just needs to get on a roll right now."
That’s an understatement.
Notes: A roster move looms for the Blue Jays as Marco Estrada will need to come off the disabled list Sunday, which means there’s some tense times coming up for Rule 5 pick Joe Biagini, who impressively retired Xander Bogaerts, David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez in order in the ninth. Asked if a contending team can carry him all season, GM Ross Atkins said: "I don’t get nervous often watching baseball games but I get nervous watching him pitch because of the situation that he’s in. He knows that he’s pitching for his job, so there’s no hiding behind that, that’s one of the beauties of being able to add to your roster, it was a creative way to add depth, and it’s a difficult situation for him to be in. At the same time, that’s why you do it, that’s why you love this game, it’s why you want to be a part of it, he’s embracing that challenge and a lot can happen in two days." … Drew Hutchison struck out nine over five innings of one-run ball, allowing one hit and two walks, for triple-A Buffalo in a 2-0, opening day loss at Pawtucket. Bisons outfielder Dalton Pompey didn’t play and is day-to-day with turf toe. … Top prospect Anthony Alford is also day-to-day after suffering an injury on his lower leg in a collision at home Thursday night. … Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said he’s "optimistic" about reaching a deal with Dunedin for renovations to the club’s spring home.