Carlos Villanueva found an opportunity to enter the Blue Jays starting rotation earlier this season with injury knocking Jesse Litsch out of action, and pulled off an impressive string of quality starts through May and June. The same cannot be said for his performance on the mound lately, however, and after today’s implosion by the Tampa Bay Rays that led to a 1-9 loss, Villanueva’s time as a starting pitcher this season could be quickly coming to a close.
Things started off well enough for the righty tonight, as Villa was able to complete a clean first inning without allowing a baserunner. The wheels started coming off immediately after, though, with the Rays busting through in the 2nd and 3rd innings, scoring 8 runs on 9 hits over a span of 1.2 innings for Villanueva. He struck out one batter in his short outing, and the ball didn’t look good coming out of his hand – his fastball was in the high 80s, where he’d been sitting at the low 90s before, and ...
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