TORONTO—Before he recorded the first out of the ballgame, Blue Jays starter José Berríos was staring at a deficit.
Back-to-back singles and a home run from White Sox first baseman José Abreu put the Blue Jays in a three-run hole less than five minutes into the game. When the right-hander allowed his fourth hit of the inning, pitching coach Pete Walker came out to visit.
"He just came to me and gave me a break, gave me that confidence and energy to keep going out there," Berríos said.
After giving his pitcher a breather, Walker also had an opinion about the strike zone for home plate ump Mark Carlson and was promptly ejected for expressing it. When the frame mercifully concluded, the Blue Jays trailed by four runs.
The first inning of Tuesday's 5-2 loss at Rogers Centre was a complete disaster, especially for Berríos, who's struggled mightily early in games since joining Toronto.
In his last start versus Washington, the 27-year-old allowed three runs in the first. On August 12 against Los Angeles, he allowed four runs in the second and one in the third. On Tuesday, Berríos was done after the third inning, allowing four earned runs on nine hits, while striking out six.
"The last three outings, early in the game, they're being so aggressive against me, Berríos said. "Like I say, baseball is a game. We have to make adjustments day-by-day. Now we have the opportunity to do it for the next start."
It's not like Berríos was missing the zone—he threw 66% strikes and walked zero batters—the White Sox simply hit him hard. His curveball and changeup seemed especially juicy, as Chicago hitters averaged an exit velocity of over 100 mph on four off-speeds put in play.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo agreed that teams are too prepared for when Berríos attacks the zone.
"His stuff is there," Montoyo said. "It seems like he's been aggressive in the zone and teams know that and they've been aggressive against him.
"It's almost like he has to make a little adjustment when it comes to that, because that's what happened today—actually the last two outings. He's been around the zone, and teams have been aggressive against him. And they got him early."
The Blue Jays front office acquired the former Minnesota Twin because it imagined him shining in moments like these—late in the season against one of baseball's better teams. That hasn't happened lately, but after Berríos' first two excellent starts in a Blue Jay uniform, Montoyo said he isn't worried about his starter's capability to bounce back.
"He's gonna find a way to make an adjustment. I can tell you that much," Montoyo said. "He'll be able to do that."
After being held in check by White Sox starter Dylan Cease for seven innings, Toronto threatened White Sox closer Liam Hendriks in the eighth inning. The Jays loaded the bases, but the Aussie fireballer got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ground into an inning-ending double play to escape the jam. Toronto pushed across one run in the ninth, but it was too little too late.
"When you struggling to score runs, it is tough," Montoyo said. "The one thing about this team, they don't quit.
"They're facing good pitching and we were in the game until the end. So credit to the team that they didn't quit and say, 'Okay, we're done.'"
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