Blue Jays unable to complete sweep of Athletics but have big opportunity ahead

OAKLAND, Calif – When swelling in his right middle finger forced Matt Chapman to leave a 10-7 loss to Cleveland on Aug. 27, half an inning after Bo Bichette exited with a right quad strain, he recognized the challenging situation the Toronto Blue Jays suddenly found themselves in. At the same time, the veteran third baseman also understood how much season remained.

“It just goes to show you really can't predict what's going to happen,” Chapman said Wednesday afternoon, before what had been shaping as a great road trip for the Blue Jays concluded as merely a good one with four wins in six outings thanks to a 5-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics. “Every single day things are changing and every game is really going to matter. It makes it fun. We're going to be in a dogfight until the very end of the year. Obviously, we're going to play Texas coming up here. Everything is right in front of us.”

A Kevin Smith three-run homer in the sixth inning off reliever Trevor Richards was the decisive blow as the Blue Jays (77-63) fell back into a tie for the third and final AL wild-card spot with the Texas Rangers (76-62), who were hosting the Houston Astros (79-61) later Wednesday.

While disappointing, the Blue Jays have still made up significant ground since falling 3.5 games out of a playoff spot Aug. 29 after losing both Chapman and Bichette. They return home for an off-day Thursday before opening a 10-game homestand with three games of opportunity against Kansas City before the Rangers check in for four pivotal contests.

“It's fine,” manager John Schneider said of taking two of three from each of the Colorado Rockies and Athletics. “You keep winning series and that's what we want to do at this point. Would have liked another one or two on the road trip but you get out of it 4-2, enjoy (Thursday) and get back after it at home.”

Bichette, who looked strong hitting, fielding and running Tuesday and will work out again Thursday at Rogers Centre, is trending toward an imminent return, perhaps this weekend, while Chapman, who fielded grounded balls and did some light throwing Wednesday, is stuck waiting for the swelling to dissipate in his finger before starting to swing the bat again.

“It sucks,” Chapman said of missing time. “I'm just trying not to focus too much on not being able to play and just trying to do everything I can to get back on the field, root these guys on and try to find any little way I can help. It sucks not being out there and trying to get back as soon as I can. In the meantime, just trying to be a part of the team, help the guys out because we're all a team and I can find other ways to try to help.”

What would have helped Wednesday is more offence, as starter J.P. Sears limited them to a second-inning Ernie Clement RBI single through five innings of work while Davis Schneider’s seventh home run, a solo shot in the eighth inning, was all they mustered in trying to rally.

Hyun Jin Ryu, continuing his remarkable return from Tommy John surgery, cruised through his first three frames before an announced crowd of 3,871 that appeared far sparser, but surrendered a two-run shot to Carlos Perez in the fourth that gave the Athletics their first lead of the series, one they never surrendered.

Ryu, pitching on regular rest for the first time since returning to the rotation Aug. 1, allowed just those two runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts over five innings.

“Overall, I think I pitched pretty well,” Ryu said through interpreter J.S. Park. “Even the home run, I did locate where I wanted to. My command and everything else in general felt pretty good.”

Richards took over in the sixth and gave up consecutive singles by Jordan Diaz and Carlos Perez before Smith went down to golf a changeup diving toward his ankles over the wall in left centre.

At a ballpark where fly balls typically die, that drive kept on going as it cleared the fence, in contrast to a pair of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. rockets in the fifth and eighth innings that travelled a combined 735 feet to the warning track in left-centre.

“Didn't think it was going to go out,” John Schneider said of the Smith drive. “We know, Kev, we know he can handle off-speed stuff in the zone. I thought it was decent pitch out of the zone. And I thought Trev threw well, a couple of soft hits and then that that homer. But, yeah, I didn't think that one was leaving.”

There was no doubt on Davis Schneider’s shot in the eighth, a 393-foot laser to left as the 24-year-old infielder continues to be the type of pleasant surprise the team has needed.

He also walked twice and now has seven homers, along with 19 RBIs and 15 walks, in 82 plate appearances and has combined in recent weeks with Clement (12 hits, including a homer and six RBIs in nine games since recall Aug. 28) and Spencer Horwitz (four hits, including a homer and three RBIs in five games since Sept. 1 addition) to buttress the Blue Jays lineup.

“Early in the count I look for something middle, middle-in, something I can hit over the fence, that I can do damage on,” Davis Schneider said of his approach. “If he throws something soft away, I'm not going to swing at it just because if I do get a hit on it, it's going to be a bloop single, I can't really do anything with it. I'm always going to make sure I can do damage earlier in the count and if it's not there, I'm not going to swing. If they paint three in a row, then you've got to tip your cap.”

The way they’ve played have made the recuperation process a little less stressful for Bichette and Chapman, knowing the team has eaten into the deficit it had been facing. Things could very easily have gone the other way had they come up and struggled, but instead played out for the better.

“These guys have come in and not only been able to contribute, but they contribute with how morale is and there are a lot of fun to be around and they make the environment in the dugout so much better,” said Chapman. “It’s awesome to have them around.”

Also awesome will be the returns of Bichette and Chapman for the meatgrinder finish that awaits the Blue Jays over the final three weeks of the season.