National Post (National Edition)
Koehler solid, but Jays fall
Round and round it goes.
When right-hander Tom Koehler took the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday at Tropicana Field, there were two reasonable reactions.
One would be “who?” And the other would be at least a partial recognition of why the Jays are about to ride out what has been a lost season.
Nothing against Koehler, a veteran hurler who had a number of workmanlike seasons with the Miami Marlins, but he was the 13th starting pitcher the Jays have employed this season.
His Toronto debut was better than decent. He scattered four hits over five innings and gave up just one run in a 2-0 Jays loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Pitching wasn’t the issue Thursday, with the main blemish a Corey Dickerson solo homer allowed in the bottom of the eighth.
Five different Rays pitchers, led by starter Alex Cobb, combined to limit the Jays to just six hits.
While Koehler gave the Jays a solid effort, the struggle to fill a five-man rotation has been one of the major causes of the Jays’ demise in 2017.
Last season, when everything went right, the team employed just seven starters. If Joe Biagini gets the start on Sunday at home against Minnesota, which looks probable, he will be the seventh different Jays starter in a nine-game span.
Put a check mark beside that as one of the reasons the Jays have not spent a day out of the AL East basement and have only sniffed at playoff contention in a year where it wouldn’t have taken much.
A Jays rotation that had the best ERA in 2016 did so without a significant injury hiccup, a tall order in a 162-game season. It’s a far cry from what we’ve seen this season, though.
Start with the blister to Aaron Sanchez, who was touted as a pre-season favourite to be the ace of the staff. Sanchez has started just eight games, pitched 36 innings and if he returns this season, it will likely be in a bullpen role.
Francisco Liriano was hindered by location and injury problems before being dealt at the trade deadline while J.A. Happ, the 20-game winner from a year ago, has struggled with a 6-9 record. Happ has picked it up lately, but also spent time on the DL back when the team was struggling. Marco Estrada has had a year he’d most like to forget.
That leaves only Marcus Stroman among the starting five that broke spring training to have a good season. With an 11-6 mark, Stroman is the only starter with a winning record.
The rotation has included Mike Bolsinger (five starts), Cesar Valdez (three), Mat Latos (three), Nick Tepesch (three), Chris Rowley (three) and Casey Lawrence (two), Should Biagini return, it will be his 12th start.
It’s tough to make a winning season when a rotation spins as fast as that.
STRONG START
Manager John Gibbons was pleased with the effort of Koehler in his Jays debut, and was particularly impressed with the former Marlin’s strong curveball.
The one run he allowed matched a season low and it was the first time in his career that he took a loss allowing one run or fewer.
That said, the veteran was disappointed he didn’t go longer than five innings.
“Five innings, you don’t want to be pushing 100 pitches. Then you’re asking a lot for the bullpen,” said Koehler, who walked three and struck out seven. “Early in the game, I had a lot of adrenalin. It’s been a while since I had pitched and pitching for the first time for a new team, there was definitely some excitement.”
JUST JOSHIN’
The Jays thought they had jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the fifth when red-hot Josh Donaldson ripped a ball down the third-base line, apparently scoring two.
After a video review, however, the ball was ruled just foul.
“There has to be better cameras than that,” Gibbons said of the review. “That’s the beauty and the curse of replay.”
Donaldson reached on a walk but when Rays centrefielder Kevin Kiermaier made a sensational diving catch — his second of the inning — to rob Justin Smoak of an extra-base hit, the Rays retained their 1-0 lead.
Kiermaier, who had a pair of home runs the night before, exited the field to a standing ovation.
GAME ON
With the loss, the Jays ended their six-game road trip with a 1-5 record and return home, where they will start a six-game homestand Friday against the Twins. The Jays are 6-15 in their last 21 games away from the Rogers Centre. They were shut out for the fifth time this season, their first on the road and the first since June 29 against Baltimore … Some tidy relief work kept the Jays in this one. Dominic Leone struck out the side in the sixth and Tim Mayza followed with a one-two-three seventh thanks to two more strikeouts and a great stab by third baseman Donaldson of a Lucas Duda rocket … The Rays opened the scoring in the second when Daniel Robertson scored on a Dickerson sacrifice fly.