Series recap: Blue Jays drop winnable series against Royals

The series against the Kansas City Royals felt like a missed opportunity to gain ground in the American League East.

For the first time since the middle of May, the Toronto Blue Jays have lost back-to-back series. First saw them lose three of four to the Baltimore Orioles, before dropping two of three to the Royals.

After a home run in the bottom of the first by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Blue Jays allowed five runs between the second and third innings to go down 5-1. It stood that way until the top of the ninth, as the Royals added four more runs for a 9-1 lead. The lone consolation prize for the Jays in the bottom of the ninth was a two-run home run from Addison Barger.

The Jays got their only win on Saturday, defeating the Royals 4-2. Three of their four runs were scored in the bottom of the third, as Davis Schneider hit a two-run single, followed by Bo Bichette’s single that drove in another run. The Royals got to within one in the top of the seventh, but Ernie Clement hit an RBI single to give the Jays an insurance run.

Sunday’s game was a rubber match, and it was one the Jays should’ve won. Entering the top of the eighth, the Jays had a 2-1 lead, but the Royals tied it. In extra innings, it all fell apart, as the Royals scored five runs to take a 7-2 lead. The Jays added two runs in the bottom half of the 10th and even had the game-tying run at the plate, but Alejandro Kirk grounded out.

The word “brutal” doesn’t come to describing how bad the Jays’ offence was in this series, and has been since the start of the Orioles series. In this series, only Bo Bichette and Ali Sánchez had a wRC+ above 100. Bichette had a great series, slashing .545/.615/.636 in 13 plate appearances. Sánchez had just two plate appearances, hitting a single.

Ernie Clement had a 94 wRC+, Davis Schneider had an 87 wRC+, and Joey Loperfido had a 74 wRC+, with the latter getting 12 plate appearances. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a tough series, with his home run in his first plate appearance being his lone hit of the series. Addison Barger also had a rough series despite hitting a home run, batting .154/.154/.385 for a 40 wRC+. Myles Straw finished with a 58 wRC+, and Tyler Heineman finished with a 9 wRC+. 

Several players finished with a sub-0 wRC+: Nathan Lukes with a -7 wRC+, Alejandro Kirk with a -21 wRC+, Ty France with a -40 wRC+, and Daulton Varsho with a -48 wRC+ in seven plate appearances, striking out four times.

All three starters went six innings. Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer each gave up an earned run, while Gausman gave up five earned runs. Relief pitching wasn’t great. Jeff Hoffman and Tommy Nance each threw two scoreless innings, while Fisher pitched a third of an inning without giving up a run.

Louis Varland gave up the tying run on Sunday, giving him a 4.50 ERA (and 2.11 FIP) in two innings in his first series as a Blue Jay. Brendon Little allowed an earned run in two and one-third innings pitched. Mason Fluharty had a rough outing, giving up four earned runs in two-thirds of an inning on Friday. Seranthony Domínguez was on the hook for three earned runs in one and one-third innings, with all of those earned runs coming on Sunday.

With how the Boston Red Sox are playing, it’s safe to say that the coming series against the 30-81 Colorado Rockies is a must-sweep type of series. The Jays have a somewhat tough schedule for the rest of the season, and they need to start playing like they did during their hot streak.