There are lots of things worse in baseball than losing a thriller like last night’s Jays’ 7-6 loss to the Yankees, that went down to the very end, and depended on no more than the circumference of the baseball, before the win was recorded for the Yankees. For example, coming out flat as a pancake the next night. For example, doing absolutely nothing at the plate against yet another pitcher making his first big league appearance of the season. For example, continuing the offensive futility against a guy who was supposed to be the team’s two/three starter yet couldn’t even hold onto a place on the big-league roster for the whole year. For example, going down in the ninth inning on two strikeouts and a popup when you’re only down 2-zip and the closer is a guy you’ve pounded regularly in the past.
Shall I go on? I thought not. Yes, my faithful followers, tonight’s was as feckless and insipid a performance by a team full of offensive superstars as you might ever want to see. Or not.
And while Marcus Stroman, Joe Biagini, and Roberto Osuna did everything you could ask of your pitchers, and turned in a combined effort that 99 times out of a hundred would result in a solid W for their team, the Jays’ hitters gave them nothing. Every at bat that gave even the remotest hope that a breakthrough might be in the offing was followed by a lame and ineffectual effort that whooshed the air out of our hopes as instantly as a balloon that gets away before you can tie it off.
First inning: Devon Travis leads off with a single. Josh Donaldson waves at strike three down and away (way down and away). Edwin Encarnacion grounds into a double play.
Second inning: With two outs, Troy Tulowitzki doubles to right, a gift extra base because the inexperienced Tyler Austin dives for a ball he should have blocked. Michael Saunders works the count to 3-2 and eight pitches, then rolls over on one and grounds out weakly to second. (Note: “rolling over” on a pitch means weak contact creating by rolling your wrists in the contact zone and hitting it weakly on the ground.)
Third inning: Leading off, Melvin Upton walks. Kevin Pillar walks. Travis grounds into an around-the-horn double play. With Pillar on third Donaldson rolls over and grounds out to shortstop.
Wait. Time out. Scoreless game, we’ve been struggling to score runs for what seems like weeks, the first two hitters walk, and your leadoff hitter swings away and hits into a double play? What book on how to play baseball did that come from? Oh, we don’t bunt. We don’t give up outs. Stats show there’s a better chance of scoring when we have a guy on first and nobody out than with a guy on second with one out. Bunts are rally-killers, even if you do it right and score a run, you hardly ever score two. What if he screws up the bunt and then has to face an 0-2 count?
All of this may be true and legitimate, but the fact is that they didn’t bunt and the leadoff hitter, arguably the best contact guy on the team, hit into a DP. Oh, and what’s wrong with one run? It was scoreless at the time, and the Yankees won with only two runs. I’ll take a shot any day at having one of Donaldson, Encarnacion, and Bautista doing something to score a runner from third with one out. As for screwing up the bunt, if you create a culture where the bunt just isn’t on, ever, who’s going to put the effort into learning how to do it properly? Self-fulfilling prophecy: if you don’t bunt, ever, you won’t bunt successfully, hardly ever.
Where were we: oh, yes, fourth inning: with one out, Bautista slaps the ball through the empty right side for a single. Russell Martin lines out to left. Tulo grounds into a fielder’s choice.
Russell Martin’s at bat in the fourth was a worry because he lost his balance on a very hard swing, and went down awkwardly on his back leg. The knee collapsed again on the ball he put in play and he hobbled badly toward first. More worrying was the fact that with two other catchers on the bench he insisted on staying in the game. Most worrying was the fact that Manager John Gibbons apparently told him that he was coming out of the game, and he apparently convinced—or told—the manager that he wasn’t coming out. He was finally pulled for pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro in the ninth inning.
Fifth inning: In order, strikeout, 2 ground outs.
Sixth inning: Travis leads off with a double inside the bag at third that somehow doesn’t carom off the seats that jut out to the foul line. Then bizarre happens. Donaldson hits an easy high one-bouncer right back to pitcher Luis Severino. Severino dutifully checks the runner at second, only to discover to this delight that he’s half-way to third. Travis is caught in a rundown, and the only saving grace is that he dipsy-doodles just enough to allow Donaldson to get to second. Never make the first out at third . . . Encarnacion grounds out to the third baseman, the runner holding. Bautista strikes out.
Seventh inning: with one out Tulo splits the outfielders with a double to left centre. Saunders ostensibly beats out a little nubber while Tulo goes to third. But the call is overturned on review; Tulo’s at third, but with two outs. Upton fans.
Eighth inning: the only time when something almost happened. Donaldson walked with two outs. Encarnacion got into one that drove Aaron Judge back to the wall against the fence in right.
Ninth inning: shut down by Tyler Clippard, their erstwhile cousin.
In the face of this, it hardly mattered that the Jays pitched really well. Marcus Stroman only went five innings because his pitch count was high, 97, after five. When you walk one and strike out eight, it will elevate the count a little bit. The Yankees scored their two runs off him in the third inning. With two outs and nobody on, Stroman threw a 1-1 slider in the zone to Starlin Castro, who jumped on it like a puppy on a milk bone, a particularly vicious puppy with a particularly tasty milk bone. Note to Marcus Stroman: never throw a pitch in the strike zone, or anywhere in the same postal code as the strike zone, to Starlin Castro. He swings at junk. Throw him junk. Probably a bit rattled (Castro’s homer was like a rifle shot), Stroman gave up a double to Didi Gregorius, walked Mark Texeira, and gave up a single to Brian McCann to score Gregorius. The Yankees had two runs, and that’s all they needed.
Here’s a disturbing thing about Marcus Stroman’s performance tonight, which wierdly mirrored Aaron Sanchez’ last night. Twice in five innings he allowed base-runners to reach after two were out. Is this a young pitcher thing? Maybe not. R.A. Dickey does it all the time.
Here’s another disturbing thing. Stroman didn’t give up a hit or a walk with two outs in the first. But Didi Gregorius did reach with two outs and Gardner already on. He reached when Travis couldn’t handle his ground ball and was charged with an error. I repeat, a fielding error by Travis. Just sayin’.
For the Yankees’ part, Bryan Mitchell, making his first appearance of the season after breaking his toe on the last day of spring training and taking the whole season to recover, kept the Jays totally in check for five innings before departing after giving up the double to Travis leading off the sixth. In five plus a batter he gave up no runs, four hits, walked two, struck out two, and threw 80 pitches. I imagine the Yankees are happy to have him back, even if it did take until September.
Luis Severino, who was handed an important spot in the rotation and couldn’t keep it, was brought back up and sent to the bullpen. He came out of the pen tonight and did just fine, thank you very much. Three innings, retired nine of eleven, one hit, one walk, three strikeouts, 52 pitches. Not bad for a pitcher who was out of the loop for most of the year.
We went into New York with a 3-3 record on the road trip and alone in first. We came out of New York 3-6 on the road trip and alone in second. A day off, and then the big series with Boston at home. Can they regroup?
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