TORONTO – All night, the Blue Jays appeared to be on the brink of breaking out offensively, and when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. finally hit a game-tying home run in the eighth, a fourth consecutive win seemed well within reach for the Blue Jays.
But with Patrick Murphy pitching and runners on the corners in the 10th inning, Dylan Moore hit a three-run homer deep over the left field wall at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field. With that, a team that’s struggled in close games faltered in the late innings once again, missing an opportunity to build further momentum and enduring an avoidable loss as a result.
Despite a 10th-inning rally of their own, the Blue Jays lost 9-7, falling to 2-5 in extra innings and 41-37 on the season.
“We scored enough to make it a game, it just wasn’t enough there at the end,” manager Charlie Montoyo said afterwards.
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From the start, the Blue Jays were in trouble as Steven Matz’s first start in 18 days was a brief one – the left-hander allowed four earned runs on five hits before exiting after just 2.2 innings. While he did top out at 95.1 m.p.h., his average fastball velocity was down 1.1 m.p.h. compared to his yearly average and he generated just four swinging strikes.
“My velocity was a tick down today, the life on my fastball wasn’t quite there, the curveball wasn’t as sharp and the command was up in the zone a bit as well,” Matz explained. “That’s what I mean when I say the sharpness on pitches, that little extra life on pitches, just wasn’t there.”
Though he tested positive for COVID-19, Matz said he was largely asymptomatic. Still, he had to isolate for 10 days after the test, and his regular throwing routines were thrown off as a result. From Montoyo’s perspective, Matz’s stuff wasn’t as lively as usual because of that absence.
“It looked like rust,” Montoyo said. “He wasn’t sharp, (but) I’m expecting him to be sharp next time because now he’s had this outing.”
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Once Matz exited, the Blue Jays turned to Trent Thornton, who allowed two runs of his own, and Anthony Kay, who looked sharp over four scoreless innings while striking out five. But by then, the damage had been done, and though the Blue Jays kept adding baserunners, they didn’t convert enough of them as the game unfolded.
To be fair, the game wouldn’t have been as close as it was without a big offensive game from Gurriel Jr., who got the start at first base Wednesday with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at DH. Before hitting his game-tying homer, Gurriel Jr. also brought the Blue Jays to within one with a fifth inning single.
The difference between wins and losses is minuscule on nights like this, as the Blue Jays know all too well. But if there’s an antidote to losses in close games, it’s quality relief pitching. With that in mind, the more the Blue Jays can add to their pitching staff, the better they’ll be able to withstand those disruptions and let their offence do its thing.
To be fair, it sounds as though the Blue Jays see it that way, too. At this stage, GM Ross Atkins is open to starting pitching, relief pitching or defence – anything to keep the opposition from scoring.
“The run prevention category will take up the bulk of our focus,” Atkins said.
For instance, the right starter could bump Ross Stripling to more of a long relief role and better equip the Blue Jays to handle nights like Wednesday. Along those lines, further bullpen upgrades would mean the Blue Jays can ease rookies like Murphy in instead of immediately relying on them in leverage.
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With relievers Rafael Dolis, Ryan Borucki and Julian Merryweather all trending in the right direction, some bullpen help is coming from within. More immediately, the addition of submariner Adam Cimber will help.
“Elite soft contact, elite ground balls and strike throwing ability,” Atkins said of Cimber. “What we see as three elite weapons in the four-seam, two-seam and slider were very attractive in addition to it being a unique look for our bullpen.”
But with Nate Pearson’s status still uncertain, it’s hard to count on much from him at this point. The Blue Jays continue seeking opinions on the groin strain that forced him to the triple-A injured list in case there’s a reason Pearson’s groin has already sidelined him twice this season.
“It’s starting to feel as though there could be something underlying (with) the nature of this reoccurrence, but at the same time we still have no evidence of that after multiple opinions,” Atkins said. “There’s the potential of it.”
At this point Pearson’s “frustrated, but coping with it well,” according to Atkins, who says the Blue Jays are hopeful their top pitching prospect will return this year. But it’s also possible some sort of surgery will be required depending on what else the Blue Jays learn.
With or without Pearson, there’s work to do on this team. The Blue Jays are acting and talking like a team intent on making further improvements, so the opportunity here isn’t lost on the front office. What they do with it over the next month or so will be nearly as intriguing as what happens between the lines.
“I feel like there’s going to be more opportunities for us and we’re very hopeful that we’ll be able to execute on them, but feel like we’re in a good position,” Atkins said. “I feel like Charlie Montoyo and his staff and our players have earned the right for us to continue to complement this group. We’ll work hard to do that.”
