Another Jay bites the dust in dispiriting loss to Tribe
Morales leaves game with hamstring injury, adding to Toronto’s DL woes
If you thought the latest Blue Jays loss was hard on the eyes, come on down to the ballpark Wednesday where the home team will field a lineup less flashy than it did many days at spring training.
As if Tuesday’s 6-0 loss to the defending American League champion Cleveland Indians wasn’t discouraging enough, it got worse when designated hitter Kendrys Morales left the game with a tight left hamstring.
Whether he’s back in uniform at the Rogers Centre Wednesday remains to be seen, but the way this season has gone so far, best not hold your breath.
“I’m not concerned so far,” Morales said through a translator. “We’re going to do an MRI tomorrow and we’ll see how it goes from there.”
Severe or not, it would be a surprise if Morales is back in the lineup for the rubber match of the three-game series against the Indians. He limped noticeably as he returned to the Jays’ clubhouse and it’s obviously not the type of injury to rush a return.
It’s yet another blow to a ravaged Jays lineup that has four of its everyday nine position players on the disabled list — Morales, third baseman Josh Donaldson, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and catcher Russell Martin.
Predictably, the Jays’ inability to generate offence without so many of its prominent bats was exposed in another frustrating outing, as they managed just three hits off Indians starter Carlos Carrasco, who was spectacular.
Carrasco overshadowed a solid outing from Mike Bolsinger, who was making his first Jays start and was hurt mostly by a pair of second-inning walks that led to runs — all the production needed by the Tribe.
While he’s not officially out, the potential loss of Morales is yet another blow.
“It’s frustrating for everybody,” said Morales, who hobbled back to the Jays’ dugout after his second groundout of the night. “It could have got worse if I stayed out there, so I’ve got to listen to the doctors and see what’s going to happen later.”
GLASS HALF-FULL?
Jays manager John Gibbons prefers to be an optimist, but recognizes it’s difficult to do so given the Jays’ 12-21 start and an injury ward that’s turned sublime.
With an offence that has been neutered by injuries and the icecold bat of Jose Bautista, the Jays are going to be all out just to play .500 ball until some of the wounded return.
“I’m well aware of what they say,” Gibbons said when asked about the ugliness of the standings. “We can’t afford any more tough streaks, I know that. Try to hold your own until you get a couple of key guys back and then see what happens.”
Realistically, you can’t expect much more than what we are seeing in this series. Win the opener, lose Game 2 and hope you somehow get the rubber match Wednesday.
After that, there’s four each against the so-so Seattle Mariners and the Atlanta Braves. Get blown out in those and even the “it’s early” crowd will have trouble keeping a chin up.
BULLISH ON BOLSINGER?
The question most Jays fans would have been asking about Tuesday’s starter Bolsinger was whether it was the same pitcher who imploded in Montreal on the final weekend of the season and played himself off the opening day roster. That would be the guy. But Bolsinger — the ninth Jays starter employed already this season — performed solidly after the two-run second. He went 52/3 innings allowing just three hits and two runs.
“The second inning I kind of lost it a little bit,” Bolsinger said. “Walked two guys and it cost me two runs. That’s the kind of thing I’ve been doing well in triple-A — not walking people. When you do, it bites you in the butt.”
CARRASCO IN CONTROL
When Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis made a strong throw to gun down Ryan Goins to end the fifth, Indians starter Carrasco had retired nine Jays hitters in a row and 13 of 14.
Through six innings, the Jays didn’t even manage to get a runner in scoring position, being held to a couple of singles. With the Indians bullpen (and its major-league best 1.79 ERA waiting), it wasn’t exactly a call for optimism.
How dominant was Carrasco? The Jays didn’t get a runner to second until the seventh inning. Carrasco went seven, allowing three hits and striking out seven.
“He’s always been tough on us,” Gibbons said of Carrasco. “He lives at the knees and gets a lot of ground balls and he can strike you out, too. The guy’s got pretty good stuff.”
WALK THIS WAY
As efficient as Bolsinger was in his start, the Jays were undone by bases on balls.
In fact, each of the first three Indians runners to score got on base via a walk. The Indians took the 2-0 lead in the second when Bolsinger gave up leadoff walks to Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Ramirez. Those two cashed after a hit from Lonnie Chisenhall.
In the seventh, Jays reliever Dominic Leone got it started with a free pass to Yan Gomes. Next up, Carlos Santana drew a walk from the next Jays reliever, J.P. Howell, and Francisco Lindor followed with a run-scoring, ground-rule double to bump the Indians lead to 3-0.