Whenever teams get off to slow starts in Major League Baseball, fans and journalists alike are constantly reminded that “it’s early.” We’re told the sample sizes are small, the numbers will even out and the quality of play will improve.
The phrase is rarely used when teams are playing well, but if there’s no reason to panic over a slow start, then there shouldn’t be too much excitement over a fast one, either. It works both ways and the Blue Jays are living proof.
Two weeks ago, the Jays were sitting pretty atop the American League East. Since then, a five-game losing streak followed by a rough series in New York has them in a race to the bottom with the equally disappointing Baltimore Orioles.Â
The latest disaster took place on Sunday at Yankee Stadium, where the Jays lost not one but two games in a rare doubleheader. They were blown out in the opener after Kevin Gausman endured a 53-pitch third inning in an 11-2 defeat. The second game went only marginally better and resulted in a 5-1 loss.
The common theme between the two games — check that, the last three years — was a lack of offence. The Jays produced 11 hits in the first game, yet only two came with runners in scoring position. In the second game, it was almost like they didn’t bother showing up, generating one run on three hits.
Take any game column from the last couple of weeks and it likely would have applied to Sunday because the story is almost always the same. The Jays are 1-7 over the last eight games while averaging an anemic two runs. They haven’t scored more than four since April 15.
By now, diehard supporters know some of the stats by memory. The Jays have the fourth-worst offence in the majors, and their .585 on-base plus slugging percentage with runners in scoring position is third worst. Only the Kansas City Royals have hit fewer homers, and the Jays were just outscored 33-9 on a road trip through Houston and New York.Â
The only chance the Jays have at winning these days is with almost flawless pitching. They didn’t get that in the doubleheader after Gausman got roughed up for six runs on three hits and an alarming five walks over 2 2/3 innings.Â
Gausman’s outing was particularly troubling because of the pitch count. Teams typically begin getting concerned after more than 30 pitches in an inning. Red lights start going off around 35 as injury concerns mount. If he’s still pitching after that, sirens might be required for 40.
Jays manager John Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker allowed Gausman to blow past all those markers. Gausman wasn’t pulled until Austin Wells hit a bases-loaded double to the gap in right-centre field. By then, he had already thrown 53 pitches, which matched the franchise record for one inning, set by Woody Williams in 1998.
Gausman was accountable during his post-game scrum with reporters in New York and didn’t complain about any arm soreness, but it was the type of gruelling outing that could create a ripple effect through his next couple of starts. The Jays will have to hope that his total pitch count, which was just 71, will instead result in normal rest and recovery.
In the second game, veteran righty Chris Bassitt served up a leadoff homer to Trent Grisham and then settled down. He retired 10 consecutive batters before Aaron Judge opened the sixth with another solo shot to put the Yankees in front 2-1. Bassitt was pulled later in the inning after he surrendered an RBI double to Jasson DomÃnguez.
Until the sixth, Bassitt had pitched well enough to win, but as usual he didn’t get enough run support. The Jays scored just once in six innings off veteran Max Fried in the opener, and they scored one more in five innings off Clarke Schmidt in the finale.
The first game was somewhat understandable because Fried’s an ace, but Schmidt was coming off a start in which he allowed five runs in just four innings to the Cleveland Guardians. Then again, with this offence sometimes it doesn’t matter who’s pitching; they’ll flail away at the good and bad.
The Jays need Gausman, Bassitt and all the other starters at their best because the road ahead isn’t getting any easier. Following Monday’s off day, they will open a three-game series against No. 1 starter Garrett Crochet and the Boston Red Sox. On Friday, the 15-12 Guardians come to town.
After getting swept in the doubleheader, the 13-15 Jays fell four games back of the first-place Yankees. If the current skid continues, the Jays could bury themselves even deeper in the standings, which would put their entire season at risk.
It’s early, but it’s not that early for an aging team that’s in a make-or-break year. They better start hitting soon, otherwise by the time they finally do it will be far too late.
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