Even Boston’s bad pitching couldn’t help the Blue Jays’ bats

Things worth mentioning…

• Heading into the game, this really, really looked, on paper, like a game where the Blue Jays’ bats could finally explode. The Red Sox had allowed five or more runs in nine of their twelve games so far this season, which presented an opportunity for baseball’s worst offence to score some runs. But, unfortunately, the game isn’t played on paper.
• Toronto managed eight hits and six walks, but they could only cash in three runs. They didn’t manage a single hit with runners in scoring position and the team grounded into four double plays. Boston’s starter, Ryan Weber, had allowed nine earned runs over seven innings of work this season (without a single strikeout!) and the Jays could only manage a couple of runs off of him. After that, the Sox bullpen held the Jays to one run over six innings.
• Adding to the frustration last night was how many outs the Blue Jays handed to the Red Sox on the bases. In the first inning, Cavan Biggio smashed a solo dinger to open the game, and then Bo Bichette followed up with a single that turned into a double due to an error. Lourdes Gurriel hit a grounder and Bichette got thrown out at third, sucking the momentum out of the inning. In the second inning, the Jays did a hit-and-run with Travis Shaw, a high strikeout risk, at the plate, that resulted in a strikeout and a throw-out at second base. Teoscar Hernandez hit a double immediately after. In the sixth, Vlad Jr. hit a double but got thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. Grichuk would hit a single immediately after. When your bats are struggling like the Blue Jays’ are, you can’t be handing free outs like Halloween candy.

• On the other side, the five runs that Boston scored is a very generous result for how the pitching performed. Tanner Roark, clearly rusty from spending what felt like a month between starts, had a rough outing, allowing four runs over three innings. He walked five guys and got hit hard six times, so those four earned runs could have been much worse.
• In a more positive note, Ryan Borucki tossed another scoreless frame with a couple of strikeouts. Jacob Waguespack picked up four outs, though he did walk a couple, and A.J. Cole was masterful in getting five outs, allowing just one walk while striking out three. Rafael Dolis would allow a run in the ninth, but he also struck out three batters.
• There’s been plenty of optimism that the Blue Jays are on the cusp of being legit. With an expanded playoff field and a short season, there’s optimism they could arrive sooner than expected. On Friday night, this team showed to be nowhere near those expectations. There are obviously going to be a lot of growing pains along the way, but the team simply needs to be better if they want to be playing meaningful baseball come September.