Lowly Blue Jays trounced by Diamondbacks in sluggish fashion

Despite the lovely weather that surrounded Rogers Centre this weekend, the Blue Jays, playing some of the worst baseball of their season, fell humiliatingly to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a dreadful series that ended with a D-Backs sweep.

With a stellar combination of starting pitching (Zack Greinke, looking at you…), clutch hitting, and dependable relief performances, the Diamondbacks were able to outscore the Blue Jays 22-4 to improve to 34-32 on the season.

Here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the weird from a forgettable series against the NL West’s Diamondbacks:

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (5-for-12, HR, 3B, 2B), one of the few plus performers at the plate, had a tremendous set. Danny Jansen (2-for-5, 2 BB, 2B, RBI) was sound at the plate, playing impressive defense to match.

On the mound, Joe Biagini (1.0 IP, 2 SO, 0 H) and Derek Law (3.1 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 SO, 2 BB) were solid, as was Tim Mayza (1.0 IP, H, 0 R). Elvis Luciano (4.0 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) appeared relatively stable in two appearances, lowering his ERA to 5.93.

Clayton Richard (2.2 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 2 BB) was destroyed by Arizona hitters, as was Thomas Pannone (1.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB). Starters Marcus Stroman (5.2 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB) and Aaron Sanchez (6.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB) were majorly roughed up as well, giving their team little chance to steal a victory.

Brandon Drury (0-for-5, 2 SO, BB) faltered mightily against his former team, while Eric Sogard (0-for-8, 3 SO, 0 TB), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2-for-8, 3 SO, 2 TB), Luke Maile (0-for-3, 2 SO), Rowdy Tellez (0-for-8, SO), and Teoscar Hernandez (2-for-8, 3 SO, 3 TB) were all non-factors.

Elsewhere in the lineup, Randal Grichuk (1-for-12, 3 SO, 1 TB) was hapless at the dish, with Cavan Biggio (0-for-10, 2 BB, 3 SO) following suit in that department. Overall, the team boasts a cumulative OPS of .662 this season, the third worst in baseball.

Following Sunday’s loss, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo, when asked if struggling starter Edwin Jackson would make his scheduled start in Baltimore, responded simply, “we don’t have anybody else”.

Elsewhere on the field, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made a few questionable plays in Saturday’s game, leading his manager to tell reporters that Vladdy has “got to learn from that.”

Embarrassed and confused, the Blue Jays (now 23-42) will head to Baltimore to face off against the 20-45 Orioles in a three-game set that will feature Trent Thornton (1-4, 4.73 ERA, 69 SO), Edwin Jackson (0-4, 11.90 ERA, 15 SO), and Stroman (3-8, 3.31 ERA, 63 SO) toeing the rubber against John Means (5-4, 2.67 ERA, 50 SO), David Hess (1-8, 7.08 ERA, 50 SO), and a pitcher who has yet to be announced.