TORONTO – After a high-stress win in Boston late Thursday night, the Toronto Blue Jays arrived home at 4 a.m., grabbed whatever sleep they could and returned to the ballpark for more.
While the short turnaround was less than ideal, playing through fatigue is part of the challenge, especially at this point in the season. Ideally, the Blue Jays would have overcome it, building on the momentum of their 6-1 road trip with a win behind No. 5 starter Mitch White.
What followed was far from ideal, however. The Blue Jays got in their own way from start to finish Friday, pitching poorly, making matters worse with their gloves and managing only six hits on the way to a 12-0 loss to the Angels in front of 40,754 at Rogers Centre.
“You flush it,” manager John Schneider said. “It’s one bad day in the last eight. And you move on. It was not our best brand of baseball and that’s all right.”
The first hints of trouble appeared in the first inning when an amped-up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made a throwing error that allowed Mike Trout to reach base. White would escape the inning without allowing any runs, but Guerrero Jr.’s aggressiveness backfired again when he got caught stealing in the bottom of the first.
Yet what happened three batters later was perhaps more troubling for the Blue Jays. Teoscar Hernandez, who had x-rays on his left foot after fouling a ball off of it in New York last weekend, fouled another pitch off that same area. Initially he stayed in the game, but he took the field gingerly in the top of the second and appeared unable to reach full speed when a Shohei Ohtani fly ball soared over his head for a triple.
“It was just mis-read,” Schneider said. “And you put that on top of fouling the ball off of his foot twice, we just wanted to be careful.”
Following a dugout discussion with Schneider between innings, Hernandez exited with what the team is calling a left foot contusion. He still appeared to be in discomfort after the game, but x-rays were once again negative and he’s considered day to day.
Making matters worse, the Blue Jays challenged a Jo Adell single on which the left fielder was clearly safe and two batters later Guerrero Jr. looked at second instead of taking an easier out at first on an Andrew Velazquez bunt single.
Granted, lopsided losses happen if you play 162 times, and there’s likely little to be gained from over-analyzing these mistakes. Big picture, Guerrero Jr. has been a vastly improved defensive first baseman and as odd as the Hernandez route looked in real time, the bruised foot adds crucial context to that play.
With better defence behind him, White may have finished the night with fewer than seven earned runs, but realistically he wasn’t at his sharpest on his way to allowing eight hits and three walks. If nothing else, he completed five innings for the first time since being traded to the Blue Jays – a welcome development for a team coming off an extra innings game.
After allowing five runs in the second, he resolved to pitch as deep into the game as possible.
“It wasn’t a good one,” White said afterwards. “As soon as I get punched in the face there, it’s like ‘it’s going to be a grind and you just have to be ready’ … it’s about protecting the bullpen.”
Of course there were still four innings to cover once White left, which opened the door for Yusei Kikuchi. The left-hander walked the leadoff hitter on four pitches – something he’s done in each of his three relief appearances – then struck out six of the next eight hitters he faced. But he also allowed two home runs, including a two-run shot by Trout.
Given the early command issues and continued home run problems, Kikuchi shouldn’t be used in high-leverage moments, but Schneider offered plenty of praise for the left-hander afterwards.
“A lot of really good things,” he said. “Just two mistakes, really … he saved our bullpen and (I) really couldn’t have been happier with the way he threw the ball.”
With the game out of hand, Whit Merrifield pitched the ninth inning, allowing the second of Adell’s two home runs while sparing the bullpen from further use.
While Hernandez’s mobility is now in question, the Blue Jays are optimistic about the progress of George Springer, who felt good after throwing from the outfield to the bases in pre-game drills Thursday. If his right elbow continues healing at this rate, he could be playing centre field at some point during the current homestand.
With 38 games left in the season, the 68-56 Blue Jays must weigh the need for rest against the need for wins right now. It’s not a new balancing act, but the Blue Jays are starting to approach it a little differently.
“We want him to be the best version of himself and we don’t want to take away from anything he’s doing offensively,” Schneider said. “But if he’s good to go at this point – we’re almost in September – if he’s good enough, he’s good enough.”
If nothing else, the Blue Jays have Springer’s bat in the lineup and given what’s awaiting Saturday, they’ll need it. Facing Alek Manoah in front of a sellout crowd Saturday afternoon will be the reigning American League MVP, Shohei Ohtani.
