Life without Alek Manoah began once again Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre, and things couldn&#8217;t have gone any worse for the Toronto Blue Jays after being dealt another demoralizing loss by the Baltimore Orioles. 
With Manoah on the IL, awaiting a second opinion on his sprained UCL, Trevor Richards took the ball as the opener, making his eighth career start since 2022. Though facing the O&#8217;s lineup is a daunting task for any pitcher these days, it was quite the opposite for the 31-year-old righty, who pitched two perfect innings, striking out four of the six batters he faced.
Richards gave the Blue Jays everything they could&#8217;ve hoped for, and then some. His changeup was arguably the best it&#8217;s ever been, inducing seven whiffs on 13 swings, accounting for a 54 per cent whiff rate.
Baltimore&#8217;s offence, however, is notoriously pesky and worked several tough at-bats versus Richards, elevating his pitch count to 40 through two innings. So, with a window of left-handed batters due up in the third, Blue Jays skipper John Schneider went to his bullpen &#8212; and that&#8217;s when the game began to unravel.
Out came Génesis Cabrera for a left-on-left matchup against Colton Cowser, who was awarded first base via a hit-by-pitch just two pitches in after a 93.6 m.p.h. sinker missed badly, arm-side. Then, after retiring the next two hitters, he walked Gunnar Henderson on five pitches, three of which landed well below the strike zone.
<figure id="attachment_74005" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-74005" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-74005" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/06/f351c97d-7ac2-4aed-99ee-c9f0b442f343.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1000" srcset="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/06/f351c97d-7ac2-4aed-99ee-c9f0b442f343.jpg 1000w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/06/f351c97d-7ac2-4aed-99ee-c9f0b442f343-300x300.jpg 300w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/06/f351c97d-7ac2-4aed-99ee-c9f0b442f343-150x150.jpg 150w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/06/f351c97d-7ac2-4aed-99ee-c9f0b442f343-768x768.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-74005" class="wp-caption-text">Source: <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/gamefeed?date=6/4/2024&amp;gamePk=744931&amp;chartType=pitch&amp;legendType=pitchName&amp;playerType=pitcher&amp;inning=&amp;count=&amp;pitchHand=&amp;batSide=&amp;descFilter=&amp;ptFilter=&amp;resultFilter=&amp;hf=liveAB&amp;sportId=1#744931" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Baseball Savant</a></figcaption></figure>
Next up was Adley Rutschman, who, after depositing a two-out RBI single into centre field, is now hitting .442/.463/.701 with a 235 wRC+ versus left-handed pitching this season. Those eye-popping results are significantly higher than his .237/.288/.353 slash line and 84 wRC+ against righties.
Whether or not Schneider should&#8217;ve gone to Bowden Francis rather than having Cabrera face Rutschman is worth debating. At the same time, it all comes down to execution, and neither excelled in that department a night ago.
Francis entered out of the &#8216;pen with two outs in the third and served up a hanging curveball to the first batter he faced, noted Blue Jays killer Ryan Mountcastle, who drove it 350 feet to left for his first of two home runs off the right-handed reliever.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
When in Toronto <a href="https://t.co/fOp0Tkvb0m">pic.twitter.com/fOp0Tkvb0m</a>
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) <a href="https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/1798143574627832137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
In his return from the IL, Francis provided 3.1 innings of work, surrendering four runs on five hits as his woes at the big-league level continued. But, of course, he wasn&#8217;t alone in that regard.
The Blue Jays had to use five relievers following Richards&#8217; impressive two-inning opener start &#8212; a less-than-ideal outcome in a 10-1 blowout loss. In total, that group was tagged for nine hits &#8212; including three home runs &#8212; and four walks, leading to the 10 runs scored, raising the <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=y&amp;type=8&amp;season=2024&amp;month=0&amp;season1=2024&amp;ind=0&amp;team=0%2Cts&amp;stats=rel&amp;sortcol=16&amp;sortdir=default&amp;pagenum=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bullpen&#8217;s 29th-ranked ERA to 4.82</a>.
Toronto&#8217;s &#8216;pen also sits last in the majors in FIP (5.01), HR/9 (1.58) and fWAR (-1.3) across the 60-game mark.
<blockquote>“You have to execute your pitches. If you’re throwing [crap] in the middle of the zone and hoping for a good result, it’s probably not going to happen against Ryan Mountcastle or against me,” Schneider said to reporters post-game, including <a href="https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/news/blue-jays-bullpen-falters-in-blowout-loss-to-orioles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB.com&#8217;s Keegan Matheson</a>. “You have to execute. We felt good about the plan going in. It’s up to the players to go out there and execute the pitches. If you don’t, that’s what happens.”</blockquote>
The bullpen needs to be better. There&#8217;s no question about it. But that problem continues to be magnified by a poor offence which couldn&#8217;t solve Corbin Burnes, who held them scoreless until George Springer&#8217;s seventh-inning garbage-time solo shot.
Only four other Blue Jays reached base safely in seven innings against Burnes, and all four occurred during the second and third innings. After that, the 2021 NL Cy Young winner retired 12 consecutive hitters before Springer&#8217;s dinger.
After winning seven of nine versus the Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto has dropped two straight against Baltimore, being outscored 17-3 in that span. They are 28-32, 14 games out of first place and running out of time to salvage their season.
<blockquote>“The beauty of baseball is tomorrow. I’ve said that a lot, I feel like, this year,” Schneider said. “It’s one day and you move on, but yeah, you have to get some momentum going no matter who you’re playing, whether it’s a team in the division, not in the division, whatever their record is. You have to get some momentum going. It’s been a tough last couple of nights.”</blockquote>
Amidst a due-or-die month, these next three or four weeks will likely outline the path forward for this team, good or bad. However, building momentum remains incredibly difficult with 13 games to play versus division leaders (New York, Cleveland, Milwaukee) and two still to go with Baltimore.

Life without Alek Manoah began once again Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre, and things couldn't have gone any worse for the Toronto Blue Jays after being dealt another demoralizing loss by the Baltimore Orioles. 

With Manoah on the IL, awaiting a second opinion on his sprained UCL, Trevor Richards took the ball as the opener, making his eighth career start since 2022. Though facing the O's lineup is a daunting task for any pitcher these days, it was quite the opposite for the 31-year-old righty, who pitched two perfect innings, striking out four of the six batters he faced.

Richards gave the Blue Jays everything they could've hoped for, and then some. His changeup was arguably the best it's ever been, inducing seven whiffs on 13 swings, accounting for a 54 per cent whiff rate.

Baltimore's offence, however, is notoriously pesky and worked several tough at-bats versus Richards, elevating his pitch count to 40 through two innings. So, with a window of left-handed batters due up in the third, Blue Jays skipper John Schneider went to his bullpen -- and that's when the game began to unravel.

Out came Génesis Cabrera for a left-on-left matchup against Colton Cowser, who was awarded first base via a hit-by-pitch just two pitches in after a 93.6 m.p.h. sinker missed badly, arm-side. Then, after retiring the next two hitters, he walked Gunnar Henderson on five pitches, three of which landed well below the strike zone.

[caption id="attachment_74005" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]<img class="size-full wp-image-74005" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/06/f351c97d-7ac2-4aed-99ee-c9f0b442f343.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1000" /> Source: <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/gamefeed?date=6/4/2024&amp;gamePk=744931&amp;chartType=pitch&amp;legendType=pitchName&amp;playerType=pitcher&amp;inning=&amp;count=&amp;pitchHand=&amp;batSide=&amp;descFilter=&amp;ptFilter=&amp;resultFilter=&amp;hf=liveAB&amp;sportId=1#744931" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Baseball Savant</a>[/caption]

Next up was Adley Rutschman, who, after depositing a two-out RBI single into centre field, is now hitting .442/.463/.701 with a 235 wRC+ versus left-handed pitching this season. Those eye-popping results are significantly higher than his .237/.288/.353 slash line and 84 wRC+ against righties.

Whether or not Schneider should've gone to Bowden Francis rather than having Cabrera face Rutschman is worth debating. At the same time, it all comes down to execution, and neither excelled in that department a night ago.

Francis entered out of the 'pen with two outs in the third and served up a hanging curveball to the first batter he faced, noted Blue Jays killer Ryan Mountcastle, who drove it 350 feet to left for his first of two home runs off the right-handed reliever.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
When in Toronto <a href="https://t.co/fOp0Tkvb0m">pic.twitter.com/fOp0Tkvb0m</a>
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) <a href="https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/1798143574627832137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
In his return from the IL, Francis provided 3.1 innings of work, surrendering four runs on five hits as his woes at the big-league level continued. But, of course, he wasn't alone in that regard.

The Blue Jays had to use five relievers following Richards' impressive two-inning opener start -- a less-than-ideal outcome in a 10-1 blowout loss. In total, that group was tagged for nine hits -- including three home runs -- and four walks, leading to the 10 runs scored, raising the <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=y&amp;type=8&amp;season=2024&amp;month=0&amp;season1=2024&amp;ind=0&amp;team=0%2Cts&amp;stats=rel&amp;sortcol=16&amp;sortdir=default&amp;pagenum=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bullpen's 29th-ranked ERA to 4.82</a>.

Toronto's 'pen also sits last in the majors in FIP (5.01), HR/9 (1.58) and fWAR (-1.3) across the 60-game mark.
<blockquote>“You have to execute your pitches. If you’re throwing [crap] in the middle of the zone and hoping for a good result, it’s probably not going to happen against Ryan Mountcastle or against me,” Schneider said to reporters post-game, including <a href="https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/news/blue-jays-bullpen-falters-in-blowout-loss-to-orioles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB.com's Keegan Matheson</a>. “You have to execute. We felt good about the plan going in. It’s up to the players to go out there and execute the pitches. If you don’t, that’s what happens.”</blockquote>
The bullpen needs to be better. There's no question about it. But that problem continues to be magnified by a poor offence which couldn't solve Corbin Burnes, who held them scoreless until George Springer's seventh-inning garbage-time solo shot.

Only four other Blue Jays reached base safely in seven innings against Burnes, and all four occurred during the second and third innings. After that, the 2021 NL Cy Young winner retired 12 consecutive hitters before Springer's dinger.

After winning seven of nine versus the Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto has dropped two straight against Baltimore, being outscored 17-3 in that span. They are 28-32, 14 games out of first place and running out of time to salvage their season.
<blockquote>“The beauty of baseball is tomorrow. I’ve said that a lot, I feel like, this year,” Schneider said. “It’s one day and you move on, but yeah, you have to get some momentum going no matter who you’re playing, whether it’s a team in the division, not in the division, whatever their record is. You have to get some momentum going. It’s been a tough last couple of nights.”</blockquote>
Amidst a due-or-die month, these next three or four weeks will likely outline the path forward for this team, good or bad. However, building momentum remains incredibly difficult with 13 games to play versus division leaders (New York, Cleveland, Milwaukee) and two still to go with Baltimore.

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