Earning back Gibby’s trust
ARLINGTON, Texas — Blue Jays’ manager John Gibbons was feeling a little hot under the collar on Tuesday afternoon, but it had nothing to do with the fact that it was 36C outside at Globe Life Park.
Gibbons was asked if he remembered telling left-hander reliever Aaron Loup last season that he didn’t trust him anymore ... as a pitcher.
“Hey, Honest John,” said Gibbons, “(Although) I don’t remember exactly how I expressed it. I’m a big fan of the guy.”
He certainly is now. Loup is having a solid year for the Jays out of the bullpen. And that’s huge given the fact that the starting rotation has suffered through a myriad of injuries and right-hander Joe Biagini has been pulled out of the pen and turned into a starter. It’s the bullpen that’s really kept the club afloat and within striking distance this season, and quietly, as is his manner, Loup has been a big part of that. He’s feeling good about himself, but last year it was a different story. There were times, the Raceland, LA native said, when he was feeling as low as he ever has in his Big League career. And the worst part was losing the trust of his manager.
“I talk to Gibby a few times and we had some good conversations about it. But he admitted to me that he really didn’t have any confidence in myself and I didn’t blame him for it because I didn’t have any confidence in myself either,” said Loup, who has an 2.70 ERA with a 2-0 record this year. “But I felt like me and Gibby always clicked well. Even back in the day when I was pitching well, he liked to run me out there all the time. So I figured if I could show him I could get guys out and get back to where I used to be, he would have trust in me again.” The trust is definitely back. Loup has been a left-handed mainstay in the Jays’ pen since 2012 but last year was the toughest of his career. He posted a 5.02 ERA and recorded only 14.1 innings in 21 games for Toronto, both career lows. He started the season on the 15-day disabled list with left elbow soreness and it went downhill from there. Loup was named to all three post-season rosters but didn’t appear in a game. That hurt.
“It was really tough,” Loup said of 2016. “I found myself riding a roller coaster and going on a downhill slope that you really don’t want to go out on. Kind of like when a hitter goes in a slump and they’re looking for a way to get out of it. I found myself searching a lot, trying to find myself I guess you could say, and find something I could have confidence in. I think partially last year (my problems) had a lot to do with me being hurt. So, coming into this spring being healthy and getting my stuff back and getting my feel back for my pitches and really just getting the few good outings under my belt, where I trust myself, has definitely been huge.”
Loup came in the fifth inning on Monday with the Rangers leading 6-5 and one out. Any more runs, and the Jays probably don’t come back. Loup struck out Rangers’ lead-off hitter Shin-Soo Choo and then got Elvis Andrus to ground out, ending the threat. He struck the first two batters in the sixth and got Rougned Odor to ground out. Eventually the Jays came back and won it 7-6.
“Fastball command and action back on the fastball,” said Loup, when asked what’s been the key this season. “Right now my fastball has a lot of life, it’s kind of jumping out of my hand and my velo’s up a little bit and it’s got good action, good sink to it, which is a big part for me. Basically my pitching revolves around my fastball. If I don’t have my fastball, more than likely it’s not going to be a good night for me.”
The 29-year said he came to spring training this year with something to prove.
“I felt like I had a little chip on my shoulder,” he said. “Not just to prove to myself but to my coaches and my teammates and the fans that it’s still in there.
“The velocity’s come back pretty good,” said Jays’ pitching coach Pete Walker. “I’ve seen him as high as 94 (mph) this year. Consistently in the low 90s anyway. More life on his fastball. The confidence is back. His breaking ball, we’ve shortened up a little bit. It’s more of a slider now. It’s still a little bit of a work in progress but I think it’s been effective. But the main thing is he’s confident, he feels good, he seems to be throwing more strikes overall and commanding the ball better.”
Jays fail to get to .500
Carlos Gomez homered in a fourrun first inning, Nick Martinez allowed two hits while taking a shutout into the seventh and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 on Tuesday night.
Adrian Beltre had a solo homer in the eighth for his 2,960th career hit as the Rangers (35-35) got back to .500 while the Blue Jays (34-36) dropped to 0-8 this season when trying to reach the break-even mark for the first time.
Toronto beat two-time defending AL West champion Texas in a Division Series each of the past two seasons, as the AL East winner in 2015 and as a wild-card last year.
Delino DeShields led off for the Rangers with a bunt single and scored on an RBI groundout by Beltre before Gomez’s seventh homer and run-scoring hits from Jonathan Lucroy and Mike Napoli.
Martinez (2-3) didn’t allow more than one baserunner in any inning, giving up one run and striking out two in 6 1/3 innings for the righthander’s first win since May 19 at Detroit.
Nomar Mazara homered for the second straight game, getting his 10th leading off the fifth. It was his fourth straight homer on the first pitch.
Francisco Liriano (3-3) gave up four straight two-out hits in the first, which ended when Napoli was thrown out at second trying to stretch his RBI single. The lefthander allowed seven hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings.