Ice-cold offence extends early slump
After dropping home opener to Brewers, team off to its worst start in franchise history, writes
It was a home opener with all the trimmings.
Bunting in centre field. Duelling TV sets from Sportsnet outside of the Toronto Blue Jays dugout prior to the first pitch to hype their corporate baseball partners as they took to the field on the festive night.
But with it, a sniff of desperation for a Jays team that had begun the season with a dodgy start on the road.
The misery continued for manager John Gibbons’ team, which fell 4-3 to the Milwaukee Brewers in front of a sellout crowd of 48,456 at the dome.
And now as Toronto’s winter pro sports teams gear up for playoff runs, the Jays have limped out to a 1-6 record and the worst start in franchise history.
A rocky outing from starter J.A. Happ and more struggles at the plate were the culprits this time as the Jays’ much-touted offence once again came up short.
The company line remains that it’s early, but before long that commentary could become as muted as the Jays bats if this doesn’t turn around soon.
And after Wednesday’s conclusion of the short series with the Brewers, the Jays will have four games against the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles then three against the division favourite Boston Red Sox.
“I don’t think it’s that tough,” Jays’ would-be slugger Jose Bautista said when asked about the challenges of climbing out of such an early hole. “We’re a group of experienced guys that don’t pay attention to that sort of stuff.
“We know it’s a long haul and we try to take it one day at a time.”
The one day at a time mantra may, in fact, be living on borrowed time.
The Jays entered the contest having scored two runs or fewer in four of their six previous game and carrying a miserable 5-for40 mark with runners in scoring position.
A team that has built it’s reputation on offence has been slow to get up to speed and while losing streaks can happen at any point in a 162-game schedule, the stench is certainly stronger early on.
“Everything is magnified at the beginning of the season because if you’re a hitter, you’re staring at the board and seeing what your average is,” Gibbons said prior to the game. “Those are important things in win-loss record. Ideally everyone wants to get off to a good start. There’s nothing you can do about that but play good baseball starting (now).”
While the Jays had some good news prior to the game — that closer Roberto Osuna was exiting the disabled list to shore up the bullpen — the downer was that third baseman Josh Donaldson wasn’t available to start.
Osuna pitched the ninth, holding the Brewers to one hit to keep the game within reach, looking strong in the process. And then with his team down by a run, Donaldson came on to pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth, but was unable to play the hero, striking out.
The official line from the team is that there’s a good chance that 2015 AL MVP will be back in a regular role for Wednesday’s conclusion of the mini series versus the Brewers.
“It hurts,” Bautista said prior to the game. “He’s one of our best players and one of our, if not, our biggest offensive weapon.
“But we have to figure out a way to win every single day regardless of what guys are in the lineup and who’s on the mound. We have to create situations where (we don’t leave) men on base like we have in the first six games. We need to start driving them in.”
The Jays’ 20-game winner from a year ago, Happ, got off to a rocky start as the Brewers blasted him early and he never really got settled. The second batter of the game, Keon Broxton, rocked a solo shot over the left-field wall to put the Brewers on the board first.
Two batters later, Travis Shaw tripled to left field and was promptly driven in by a Domingo Santana single. Just like that, the sellout crowd had barely settled in their seats and the Jays were down 2-0.
The Jays got one back in the bottom half of the first when a sharp Troy Tulowitzki hit to centre resulted in a double, driving home Bautista, who had walked.
Typical of the Jays’ early season struggles, however, with Tulowitzki on second and Kendrys Morales on third and just one down, both Russell Martin and Justin Smoak struck out.
The Brewers increased their lead to 3-1 in the third when Broxton scored again after starting with a single, stealing second and then advancing home on a Shaw fielder’s choice when Jays second baseman Devon Travis unsuccessfully threw home.
The Brewers increased their lead to 4-2 in the fifth when Domingo Santana bladed a twoout shot over the right field wall. And when Jesus Aguilar followed with a double, Happ’s day was done.
The Jays got to within a run in the bottom of the fifth when Tulowitzki’s second double of the night sent Morales chugging all the way home from first.
Happ was hit hard and often, giving up nine hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings as his pitch count escalated to 102.
Trailing by one, the Jays appeared to get a glimmer of hope in the seventh when lighthitting Ryan Goins drew a leadoff walk. But the Jays could advance a runner no further than second and another opportunity was left uncashed.
With a veteran team, there might not necessarily be panic going forward. But with lofty expectations, there will certainly be pressure.
“All we gotta do is move forward,” Bautista said. “And go into the games we have upcoming and try to win those.”