Blue Jays stage frenetic rally in ninth inning, but come up short

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The wait to reach .500 continues for the Blue Jays, who remain this confounding and confusing team surprisingly in the hunt for a wild-card berth in a crowded inferior field.

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When they hit, the Jays can’t pitch.

When a lead needs to preserved, their bullpen implodes.

On rare games where every facet gets executed, wins are produced, even against dubious foes.

In the host Milwaukee Brewers, the Jays faced a divisional leader that relies on speed and small ball, qualities the Blue Jays simply do not possess.

Still, the Jays had a chance to take a series against a winning team for what seems like months.

It all became unhinged in a five-run sixth inning when the Brewers resorted to small ball and mixed in long ball aided by a Jays’ throwing error.

All five runs came with two outs.

A series win would be replaced by a 5-4 loss in Wednesday’s rubber match as the Blue Jays fell two games under .500 with a weekend home series against the AL Central leading Cleveland Guardians on tap, a team featuring the Naylor brothers from Mississauga.

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And, oh brother, did Wednesday’s game ever get away.

Milwaukee stole three bases, including home, and recorded 10 hits.

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They say speed kills and it certainly was reinforced by the Brewers.

What also kills is lack of hitting.

It took the Jays until the ninth inning to finally string together hits, four in a row, in fact, one more than the entire total from the previous eight innings.

The ending was drama-filled, but it ended in a loss nonetheless.

CHRIS AMISS

Chris Bassitt was not at his best.

Truth be told, he was nowhere near his best.

When an out needed to be recorded, the veteran found a way in an start when Bassitt was surrounded by base runners right from the start.

The Brewers, simply put, were brutal, stranding runners and failing to execute when runners were in scoring position.

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Bassitt tied his season high by issuing four walks.

Through four innings his pitch count had reached 78.

In the fifth inning, more runners would be on base as even more would be left stranded.

Bassitt’s outing ended on a strikeout, his fifth of the game.

In five innings, Bassitt gave up five hits.

Zach Pop started the sixth inning when the Brewers finally recorded a hit, their first, incredibly, of the series with a runner in scoring position

Pop was given the hook with two outs after Milwaukee scored two runs to take a 2-1 lead.

The key sequence involved a poor throw by Alejandro Kirk to second base that went into the outfield for an error.

At the time, Milwaukee had runners at the corner.

It was both a physical and mental mistake made by Kirk.

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After retiring the first two batters, Pop gave up a walk to set the stage for the damage that would ensue.

He was replaced for Tim Mayza, who gave up a two-run home run.

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Spencer Horwitz, who had five hits in four games heading into Wednesday, batted leadoff in a starting lineup that had Davis Schneider in the No. 2 hole.

Following a Horwitz groundout, Schneider turned on Tobias Myers’ first pitch and launched it deep into the seats in right-centre for his eighth home run of the season.

In Toronto’s second at-bats against Myers, Horwitz reached base on an infield single.

Schneider almost went deep on back-to-back at-bats, but it ended up going foul down the left-field line.
He struck out swinging, the 58th time Schneider has struck out this season in his 190th at-bat.

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VLAD’S OFF DAY

The one constant to the Jays’ fluid and on far too many nights feeble lineup is the presence of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

He entered the three-game set in Milwaukee having recorded a hit in eight of his past nine games, a stretch featuring two home runs, while knocking in five runs and drawing three walks.

Against the Brewers, Vlad Jr. went a combined 0-for-9 in the opening two games, including striking out once.

Knowing an off day awaits Thursday, recognizing the series finale at American Family Field was a matinee start that followed a night game, it made sense to keep Vlad Jr. out of the starting lineup.

Vlad Jr. entered the game as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning, runners at the corner and two outs in a one-run game.

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He made solid contact by sending a ball deep into centre field, but it would go for a long out.

Game over.

DODGER BLUE BIGGIO

Prior to opening pitch, the Jays confirmed the deal that sent Cavan Biggio to the Dodgers.
In acquiring minor-league reliever Braydon Fisher, who is expected to join the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Jays also included cash considerations to a Dodgers team flushed in cash.

Reaction was predictable, summed up best by the skipper.

“Tough to have him leave, obviously, we said that a couple days ago. Nature of the business sometimes, but happy that Cavan landed on his feet on a good team

“He’s got a buddy, Teo (Hernandez) over there, too.”

It was Schneider and GM Ross Atkins who broke the news to Biggio last Thursday following a win over the Baltimore Orioles that the club would be removing his name from the 40-man roster.

In the hours leading up to Friday night’s series-opening game in Oakland, the Jays officially DFAed Biggio, opening a roster spot for Horwitz.

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