Blue Jays' offence nowhere to be found as Tigers complete combined no-hitter

DETROIT – A day after scoring 12 runs on 14 hits, the Blue Jays were no-hit for the seventh time in franchise history.

Matt Manning, Jason Foley and Alex Lange pitched the first combined no-hitter in Tigers franchise history and the ninth overall as Blue Jays hitters failed to provide starter Kevin Gausman with any run support on the way to a 2-0 loss.

“Getting no-hit is a little embarrassing for sure, but we get hits to win the ballgame,” said designated hitter Brandon Belt. “We don’t get hits to not get no-hit. It was just one of those days where the hits weren’t falling for us. The pitchers were doing really well and their pitchers were better than our hitters today. That’s how baseball goes sometimes.”

Adding to the intrigue, Belt challenged baseball orthodoxy by showing bunt with one out in the ninth inning. While the crowd booed, Belt simply saw it as a chance to get on base.

“I would have 100 per cent bunted right there,” he said. “The pitch was outside, though. But we’re trying to win a ballgame. It’s a two-run game. If it’s a six or seven run game, that’s different, but in a two-run game we need baserunners. I was honestly shocked they played back that far, but I was absolutely going to bunt right there if (Lange) put it over the plate.”

The Blue Jays fall to 49-41 with the defeat, the first on their current road trip through Chicago and Detroit. 

“You just flush it and move on,” said manager John Schneider. “Baseball’s weird sometimes. You’ve got to tip your cap to the guys who made good pitches.”

Before Saturday, the Blue Jays had been no-hit six times: by Len Barker in 1981, Dave Stewart in 1990, Nolan Ryan in 1991, Justin Verlander in 2011 and in 2019 and James Paxton in 2018. This latest no-hitter came after a one hour, 22-minute rain delay.

Now, there’s a difference between having a bad offensive game and being a bad offensive team. Not all games need to be referendums on a team’s players, or management or will to win. 

With that in mind it’s worth zooming out and remembering that the Blue Jays entered play Saturday with the 13th-most runs scored in MLB, the 6th-best wRC+ (109), the 6th-best strikeout rate (20.8 per cent) and top-10 rankings in batting average (.262), on-base percentage (.329) and slugging percentage (.420).

Still, there was no offence to be found on Saturday and as a result the Blue Jays missed a chance to pad their record against a struggling team.

“It’s frustrating for sure,” said Schneider. “Guys aren’t trying less hard than they were yesterday and they’re not going to try harder tomorrow. It’s just one of those things.”

With rain still falling in the first inning, the Tigers got to Gausman for the only runs they’d score against him. Riley Greene singled, Spencer Torkelson doubled and Kerry Carpenter tripled, giving Detroit an early 2-0 lead. But from then on, Gausman was his usual self, holding the Tigers scoreless over his remaining five innings while striking out seven. 

The outing caps off a stellar first half for Gausman, who has now pitched 115.2 innings over 19 starts on his way to a 3.02 ERA. He’s a big reason why the Blue Jays rank third in MLB with 44 quality starts this year. If the Blue Jays are going to accomplish their ultimate goal of reaching the post-season and winning four playoff series, Gausman will have to factor prominently.

Next up for the right-hander – a break with his family. Though he was selected to pitch in the All-Star Game and appreciated the honour, he declined the invitation in favour of some much-needed rest.

“I’ve never been at this many innings over the break, so I’ll just use the time to spend with my daughters and hang out with my family,” he said. “Trying to use the break as a break and see the time off to recuperate and get ready for the second half.” 

Before the game, the Blue Jays placed George Springer on the paternity list while adding Nathan Lukes to the active roster, a move that created room for Cavan Biggio in the starting lineup. With Springer away from the team, Bo Bichette led off followed by Belt and Vlad Guerrero Jr.

Clearly, the new batting order didn’t work as intended. As a result, the Blue Jays missed a chance to take advantage of another strong start from their ace.

“We’d like to have swept these last two series,” said Gausman. “It’s a loss, but these (Blue Jays hitters), they could put up 25 tomorrow. From what I was watching, their pitchers made really good pitches. Sometimes you’ve got to give them credit.”

Now, the Blue Jays must regroup before Chris Bassitt pitches against Tarik Skubal when the first half wraps up Sunday afternoon.

“Our goal is to win as many games as possible,” said Belt. “That doesn’t change whether we get no-hit or not.”