Jays’ relievers pen another sorry tale
LEAGUE-LEADING LOSS: Storen starts the fire in eighth as Los Angeles dodges a gem of a start from Estrada
Four wins, three losses. Good homestand or bad? “Good homestand,” said Jose Bautista, “we’re playing good baseball. Playing well does not always translate to winning baseball.”
The Blue Jays headed for a San Francisco-bound charter Sunday eve after losing a winnable 4-2 game to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Jays went 4-3 against the Dodgers and Texas Rangers and now hit the road to face the Giants and the Rangers, but as the buses pulled out it didn’t have the feel of a successful ‘Good job, baby’ homestand, mainly because the Jays fell a game below .500. As for the one that got away ... Marco Estrada’s solid outing (one run in seven innings)? Poof! Gone. And that 2-1, eighth-inning lead thanks to an error by Dodgers’ rightfielder Trayce Thompson as Justin Smoak broke from second?
Shelved quicker than all the pink bats, armbands and undershirts will be come Monday.
With the loss pinned on Drew Storen, the Jays’ bullpen has an American League high of 10 losses.
Yet, the most troubling aspect for the Jays to consider on their six-hour flight west is that besides the bullpen — where problems abound and zero solutions appear on the horizon — the top four spots in the batting order were a problem this weekend against Dodgers pitching: Two regular starters and Clayton Kershaw, seeking his fourth Cy Young Award in six seasons.
Michael Saunders, Josh Donaldson, Bautista and Encarnacion were a combined 2-for-13 in Friday’s win as Bautista went deep and Encarnacion doubled.
Kevin Pillar, Donaldson, Bautista and Encarnacion were 3-for-16 in Saturday’s loss. Pillar and Bautista doubled, while Donaldson singled.
And on Sunday, Saunders, Donaldson, Bautista and Encarnacion combined to go 1-for-16 with a Saunders single.
That all adds up to 6-for-45 (.133) from the top four hitters in the lineup.
“We’re not going to win anything hitting like that,” said Encarnacion.
Yet, there were the Jays with the narrowest of leads and six outs remaining when manager John Gibbons went to Storen.
Chase Utley walked on a 3-2 pitch to open the eighth and Corey Seager pulled a 1-2 pitch which hopped the right-field fence for a groundrule double.
Gibbons went to his strikeout machine Roberto Osuna in the eighth. As Storen left the mound, replays showed him saying something. Was he talking to Gibbons or umpire Chad Fairchild?
“I asked Russell Martin why (Fairchild) didn’t call the previous pitch a strike,” said Storen. “It’s not my job to decide (on the change to Osuna).
“But I trust myself. I’ve been in that situation before and that’s not a knock on Roberto or anyone else. Anyone that wants to come out of a game should not be pitching.”
Osuna was entering the ‘hangwithzone, the kind of situation Montreal Expos’ reliever Jeff Reardon used to hate: Second and third, none out. “Let me get this straight,” Reardon would ask, “I do my job, I get a fly ball outs and I get a blown save? I give up another fly ball and they out hang a loss on me.”
Osuna fanned Justin Turner, who didn’t like Fairchild’s Mother’s Day strike zone either, and then what used to happen to Reardon happened to Osuna. Yasmani Grandal hit a fly ball, tying the score, as Osuna was charged with his first blown save in seven opportunities. Howie Kendrick singled in a run. Looking back at the carnage, Gibbons told reporters: “We do need (Storen), that’s just a fact. What hurt him today, the lead off walk, same thing as Friday, but he got out of it.” Storen saved Friday’s win with a scoreless, but cluttered inning.
Gibbons turned to lefty Chad Girodo over Brett Cecil in the ninth as the Dodgers sent 14 men to the plate in the final two innings against Jays relievers Storen, Osuna, Jesse Chavez, Girodo and Gavin Floyd.
It was a messy finish after Estrada allowed five baserunners in the first seven innings.
Who are the most reliable relievers right now to get to Osuna? Chavez, Floyd and Rule V pick Joe Biagini?
“We’ve got a bunch of veterans out there, they know what they’re doing,” said Estrada about his bullpen. “These things happen. There’s times where starting pitchers are struggling and there are times when relievers are struggling and there’s times when your offence is struggling.”
Right now, under Estrada’s powerpoint presentation, only the starting pitcher group isn’t scuffling.
“These things happen; hopefully it doesn’t last very long with anybody,” Estrada said, “and hopefully we can all turn things around and play as a group, play together. This team’s way too good not to. Once we get things rolling and we all play our game, we’re going to be really successful.”
I remember a few certainties my late mother told me, but I don’t ever recall her saying she was sure that the Blue Jays would be successful. We know, we know ... it’s early. With the Jays on the West Coast, we remember what Yogi Berra once said: “It gets late early out here.”
“We’re playing good baseball. Playing well does not always translate to winning baseball.” — Jose Bautista