Jays hit ‘rock bottom’ against Rays
TORONTO — Marco Estrada’s words were confident and optimistic, but the soft tone of the Toronto righthander’s voice and glum look on his face told a different story as he tried to explain the Blue Jays’ recent skid that continued Wednesday with a demoralizing 8-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Our team morale is still high, guys are picking everybody else up every inning,” Estrada said following the loss that knocked Toronto down to third place in the American League East.
“It’s just hard to explain this,” Estrada continued, his gaze often finding the floor as TV cameras flashed brightly on his face. “I guess when things are going bad they stay there for a bit. But the good thing is we can only go up from here. I know things are going to change. I know time is running out but things are going to change. We’re too good for it not to.”
The loss capped a 2-4 stint at Rogers Centre that included a crucial series loss to the Boston Red Sox last weekend.
September has been a disaster for the Jays, who opened the month with four series losses for the first time this season. They have won just three of their last 12 games and are two games behind Boston for first place in the AL East after the Red Sox fell 1-0 to Baltimore Wednesday night. Toronto had held sole possession of the division lead as recently as Sept. 5.
“I’ve got to believe we’re rock bottom,” manager John Gibbons said. “I don’t see how much lower it can go. So I’m optimistic that this will turn and turn in a hurry.”
The Blue Jays will need it to if they hope to make a second straight post-season appearance.
Toronto begins what could be a tough seven-game West Coast road trip today in Los Angeles followed by a three-game stop in Seattle.
The lowly Angels, behind the power of Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, won two of three games against the Jays at Rogers Centre in August. The Mariners, meanwhile, are not far removed from an AL wild-card spot and took two of three at Toronto in July.
Estrada (8-9) dominated the first three innings Wednesday, retiring the first nine Rays he faced and setting a franchise record by opening the game with five straight strikeouts. But as the game wore on, the Blue Jays’ struggles began peeking through.
They managed just two hits on the day — matching a season-low — while giving up 13. They failed to score more than three runs for the 21st time in their last 41 games.
Estrada maintained that despite the Blue Jays’ current state, no one in the clubhouse has given up — not yet, anyway.
“We’re fighting. We’re fighting for sure,” he said. “I don’t think anybody’s down. Not yet. But we need to turn this around before anybody does get down.” It’s all part of the game, he said. “But it seems worse because we’re all struggling right now,” he said. “It’s kind of been a snowball effect, we just have to stop it. We have to find a way to do it. Nothing’s been working out lately.”
Also concerning for the Blue Jays is the recent absence of Josh Donaldson. The reigning AL MVP sat out Wednesday’s game, his third straight, with a hip injury.
Orioles 1, Red Sox 0
BOSTON — Mark Trumbo hit his major league-leading 42nd home run, Kevin Gausman outpitched Rick Porcello over eight innings and the Baltimore Orioles pulled within a game of AL East-leading Boston with a 1-0 win over the Red Sox on Wednesday night.
Baltimore took two of three in the series to pull a game ahead of slumping Toronto for the top AL wild card.