Spiralling Blue Jays pine for Bautista’s steady bat

TORONTO — Unquestionably, José Bautista’s very presence in the lineup makes the Toronto Blue Jays a formidable foe. But in his absence, his teammates seem to view him as a superhero, ordained to swoop in and single-handedly save them from falling into the abyss.

That may be asking a bit much from a man who has spent almost a week nursing a hamstring injury, and from a slugger who hit one home run and drove in nine runs in the month of June. To play the liberator’s role, he will need considerable help.

But the Blue Jays can hardly be blamed for seeking a saviour. A month ago, in the midst of a 15-2 surge, they expected to win every game. Now their players are turning to the word “hopefully” a lot.

As in this, from pitcher Mark Buehrle: “Hopefully, Bautista’s back here in the next couple days to give us kind of a jolt in the lineup.”

And this, from José Reyes: “Hopefully, we can get Bautista back soon. We’re going to need him because we have to settle in one lineup in the second half if we want to continue to be in first place.”

The Jays’ grip on first place became increasingly tenuous after a 4-0 loss on Sunday to the Chicago White Sox, in which Bautista bounced into a fielder’s choice in a pinch-hitting role. It was their ninth loss in 13 games. In those nine losses, they averaged 1.7 runs.

After going 21-9 in May, they finished June with a 12-15 record and injuries to three key players: Bautista, who hoped he might serve as designated hitter on Tuesday after a team day off; Brett Lawrie, who faces roughly another month on the disabled list with a broken finger; and reliever Brett Cecil, who starts an injury rehab assignment Monday with Triple-A Buffalo.

The Jays lost the final three games of a four-game set to the White Sox. Before the series began, the focus fell on Chicago’s plan to start three left-handers on the weekend against a Toronto lineup suffering from the absence of Bautista and Lawrie.