RED SOX at BLUE JAYS
TV: Sportsnet One, 7 p.m. Mariners knock out Happ, Jays,
The Blue Jays have played just 14 of 38 games this season against teams currently above .500. After Thursday’s convincing 9-3 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Mariners, the Jays are 5-9.
That’s not a performance indicative of the contending ball club that the Jays believe they can be.
“It’s never easy,” manager John Gibbons said, when asked to comment on the importance of the upcoming series against the Boston Red Sox. “Day by day. You ever hear that?”
J.A. Happ has arguably been the Jays’ most reliable starter for the first six weeks of this season, but against the M’s — one of his former teams — he struggled badly. Happ needed 84 pitches to record 10 outs. His record dropped to 4-3, while his ERA jumped to 4.80.
Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager crushed two home runs, including a first-inning grand slam against Happ, that set the Jays on their heels for the rest of the night. The slam was the fourth of Seager’s career.
Asked if location was a problem on this night, Happ said: “The one pitch was. I certainly wasn’t good, but that first inning really wasn’t bad. It was two ground-ball (singles), a walk and in a big moment I threw a pitch down the middle to a very good hitter. You go down 4-0 and it didn’t get much better from there. I tried to keep it there, but wasn’t able to.”
The third baseman’s second homer of the night and sixth of the season led off the fifth inning to straightaway centre field off reliever Jake Petricka. It was the seventh career multihomer game of his career. First baseman Ryon Healy also homered off Happ, in the third inning.
Seattle shortstop Jean Segura went 4-for-5 with a double, the four hits a season high. Catcher Mike Zunino homered deep to left-centre field off Jays reliever Tim Mayza in the ninth for his second hit of the game. Seattle’s leadoff hitter reached base in six of nine innings, including homers by Healy, Seager and Zunino.
In the words of Gibbons, the rotation needs “a couple of gems” to get things turned around. In Happ’s view, it’s not a case of one pitcher showing the way and everyone else following. There have been selective gems, but no followup.
“I think as a group we haven’t kind of hit our stride together, I know that,” Happ said. “Hopefully that will come.”
The Jays were unable to solve Seattle right-hander Mike Leake, who entered the game with a 3-3 record and 6.28 ERA but managed to work his way through seven innings of six-hit ball, the only damage being a two-run homer by Russ Martin in the second.