Blue Jays swept out of Los Angeles after frustrating stretch

Hoping to build off a solid set against Oakland at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays (14-17) headed west to face off against Mike Trout and the Angels (15-17) in a midweek series in Anaheim. Unfortunately for them, they were embarrassed throughout the majority of the series and left town with a trio of losses.

Here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the weird from a disappointing week in California:

Relievers Daniel Hudson (1.0 IP, 0 ER, H), Elvis Luciano (2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, SO), and Ken Giles (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, SO) were sound on the mound, while Joe Biagini (1.0 IP, SO, 0 H, 0 R) continued to throw the ball well.

On the offensive side of things, Rowdy Tellez (4-for-7, HR, RBI, 2B) contributed valiantly, with Randal Grichuk (3-for-8, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) also getting in on the action

Clay Buchholz (5.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 SO) was decent in his outing, though the starting pitchers as a unit were not dependable enough throughout.

Teoscar Hernandez (0-for-7, 3 SO, 0 TB) had a dreadful series, as did Brandon Drury (1-for-8, 2B, 5 SO), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (0-for-4, 2 SO), and Freddy Galvis (0-for-9, 4 SO, 0 TB). Billy McKinney (0-for-5, 2 SO, 0 TB) also scuffled in limited at-bats.

In addition to going 0-for-3, Alen Hanson struck out once and made one of the year’s most painful fielding errors, allowing a ground ball to the outfield to slide underneath his glove, resulting in a triple from Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons.

On the mound, Ryan Tepera (1.0 IP, ER, HR, L) and Aaron Sanchez (4.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, L) weren’t the best, while Marcus Stroman (3.1 IP, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, L) also struggled mightily in his start.

In addition, Sanchez blew up on his Blue Jays teammates, expressing his anger with the team’s poor performance on both sides of the ball, something that, while a potential wake-up call for a struggling squad, could cause discomfort in the clubhouse.

Once again, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo opted to pinch run for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., doing so in Tuesday’s game, again using Alen Hanson in his place, despite the relatively similar speed exhibited by both Vladdy and Hanson.

Clearly anxious to get back in the win column, the team heads to Texas to face off against the Rangers (14-15), who’ll send Mike Minor (3-2, 2.88 ERA, 39 SO), Lance Lynn (3-2, 5.45 ERA, 33 SO), and Drew Smyly (0-2, 7.80 ERA, 19 SO) to face off against Trent Thornton (0-3, 5.08 ERA, 33 SO), Clay Buchholz (0-1, 4.79 ERA, 11 SO), and a pitcher that has yet to be named.

While the team could choose to go with an opener (perhaps Thomas Pannone or Sam Gaviglio), it’s possible that they turn to Triple-A Buffalo’s Jacob Waguespack or a stretched out Corey Copping to make a one-time spot start to relieve an exhausted starting rotation.