TORONTO – When quality starting pitching is paired with small ball, some satisfying, hard-fought wins will often follow. Yet once the quality of pitching drops off, bunts, sac flies and singles are no longer enough to overcome big deficits and momentum disappears quickly.
On Sunday afternoon, the Blue Jays experienced that disappointment first-hand as the visiting Seattle Mariners rocked starting pitcher Easton Lucas and the Toronto offence had no answers on their way to an 8-3 loss in front of 25,752. While reliever Paxton Schultz stepped up with 4.1 outstanding innings to keep the game close in his MLB debut, the Blue Jays still lost the series finale, falling to 12-10 on the season before flying south to Houston.
Big picture, the Blue Jays are still in a reasonably good spot considering the quality of their opposition so far this season, but this loss does raise questions about their starting rotation and their offence.
On the pitching side, Lucas was hit hard immediately, allowing a home run, a double and another home run to the first three hitters he faced. In each instance, he left hittable pitches over the heart of the plate and Dylan Moore, Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh made him pay with loud contact and three early runs.
By the time Lucas left the game, he’d allowed two walks and seven hits on his way to six earned runs and his worst start as a Blue Jay. While his stuff can work when it’s located perfectly, Lucas doesn’t overpower hitters, so he can’t afford to miss middle-middle the way he did Sunday.
It was only thanks to Schultz that this game stayed close as late as it did. The right-handed reliever was added to the team’s 40-man roster a couple of hours before the game, and ended up contributing sooner than expected with a clutch, scoreless relief performance in which he struck out eight Mariners and allowed only two hits.
“I’m excited for him,” said catcher Tyler Heineman, who contributed three hits in the loss. “He’s a bulldog. He competes with whatever he’s got that day and gives it everything he’s got.”
How the Blue Jays proceed with their fifth rotation spot isn’t yet clear, but they have options ahead of next weekend’s series against the Yankees. Max Scherzer isn’t close to rejoining the rotation, so it’s possible Lucas could get another start and Schultz now deserves consideration, too. Prospect Jake Bloss pitched well at triple-A Sunday and is already on the 40-man roster, but given his slow start with Buffalo (7.31 ERA), more seasoning in the minors may be preferable.
If the Blue Jays are comfortable pushing their veteran starters a little harder, they could use upcoming off days to skip the fifth spot in the rotation while starting Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt in New York on regular rest. In that scenario, the Blue Jays would give their established arms less rest but they could get away without a fifth starter until May 3.
In the meantime, the Blue Jays must also find ways to hit for more power. They do other things well offensively, as evidenced by their 11 hits Sunday, including two apiece from Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but they didn’t hit a home run in the series finale, so they rank 29th among the 30 MLB teams with only 12 home runs through 22 games.
Until that changes, there will be continued pressure on the pitching staff to perform at their very best. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, Lucas wasn’t up to that challenge this time.
