IT’S HOME SWEET HOME FOR STRUGGLING JAYS
Third-straight loss to Rays leaves Toronto at 1-5 heading into home opener Tuesday
The Toronto Blue Jays have charged out of the starting blocks like a sprinter who forgot his shoes.
Dropping their series finale to the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field 7-2 on Sunday afternoon, the Jays are 1-5 to start the season, matching their worst start ever (in 2014). The loss to the Rays was their third-straight defeat and third after holding a lead in the game.
The Jays get a chance to reverse the trend with their home-opener Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers at the Rogers Centre.
“Yeah, I think that’s what we need,” said manager John Gibbons. “We need to get home. Seems like we’ve been gone forever. Maybe that’s the energy and spark we need.”
The Jays also lost 2015 AL MVP Josh Donaldson in the top of the sixth when he pulled up lame trying to beat out a ground ball to first base. Donaldson, who missed a couple of weeks in spring training with right calf strain, hurt it again, although apparently in a different spot. Donaldson expects to play on Tuesday.
The Rays used their speed and defence, and the long ball, to win their third straight over the Jays after losing the series opener. The Jays managed just three hits against Tampa pitching. Toronto starter Marco Estrada took the loss, giving up five earned runs over five innings, including home runs by Corey Dickerson, Steven Souza Jr. and Jesus Sucre. Estrada’s fastball hit 90 mph at times but the location of his curve ball was a problem.
“I was missing with them all day,” he said. “Was looking OK with the fastball so pretty happy about that. It was just one of those days, couldn’t really follow through on my change-up and got hurt. They were all up. I even got away with some that I left up. But I know what I did, so I’m going to work on it during my bullpen (session) and I’ll be ready to go for the next one.”
Obviously the mood in the visitor’s clubhouse after Sunday’s loss wasn’t exactly upbeat, but the players insist that it will turn around.
“We’ve got a good ball club. There’s no panic in here,” said shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. “We’re going to be just fine. I can promise you that.”
“We’re six games in, don’t buy too much into it right now,” added Estrada.
The Jays drew first blood with two runs in the first courtesy of Donaldson’s opposite-field solo home run to right. Jose Bautista then walked, Kendrys Morales doubled into the gap between right and centre and Tulowitzki grounded to short to score Bautista from third.
The two teams congregated onto the field in the second inning after Tulowitzki took exception to the way Souza slid into second on a double-play. Souza appeared to slide late and the two exchanged words, prompting the dugouts and bullpens to empty. Tulowitzki wasn’t backing down afterward.
“I definitely respect the game and felt like (the slide) was a little late and felt I should say something, not so much just for myself but for other guys in the future. You try to save injuries,” he said.
“All I’m trying to do is not get injured. I don’t think he would want to injure me. But it is what it is, you move past it, no hard feelings. I just want the game to be played the right way.”
Tulowitzki and Souza got into it last September when Souza started yelling at Russell Martin over something Martin said when Souza was at the plate and Tulowitzki charged over in support of his catcher. Souza said after Sunday’s game that he just plays hard, and that’s all there is to it.
“I’m not going to play every game and wonder if Tulo is going to get upset about it,” he said. “If he thinks I’m trying to be malicious, he clearly doesn’t know who I am. It’s unfortunate that it turned into something like that because it’s just baseball. Hopefully we can just squash it and move on because I’m really tired of having a feud with that.”
Bautista smashed a ball at Tampa starter Jake Odorizzi in the third that went off the righthander’s thigh, though Odorizzi was able to field the ball and get Bautista at first. The Tampa RHP took the win.
In the third, Dickerson smacked a 1-2 pitch from Estrada that just made it over the low fence in the left field corner to bring the Rays to within 2-1. The next batter, Kevin Kiermaier stroked a triple through the hole at second base.
After Estrada struck out Evan Longoria and walked Brad Miller, Souza came up to the plate and had words again with Martin, prompting home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski to walk over toward the Rays’ dugout and jaw with Tampa manager Kevin Cash. Souza then smashed his first homer of the season over the wall in left, a three-run shot that put Tampa ahead 4-2.
Sucre hit his home run in the fourth to make it 5-2 for the Rays. They added two more runs with two out and rookie Casey Lawrence on mound for the Jays in the eighth. Sucre’s single to left planted the two runs.