Blue Jays' offense still awaiting spark after two-run effort

DETROIT -- Until the Blue Jays’ offense comes to life, they’ll continue to find themselves losing games like these.

Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Tigers put the Blue Jays on the wrong end of a Spencer Torkelson walk-off, but it shouldn’t have gotten to that point. After Matt Vierling reached on a blooper to center field, he stole just his second base of the season to get into scoring position.

“You’ve got to limit stolen bases. The last couple of outings for [Jeff] Hoffman, teams are taking advantage of that,” said manager John Schneider. “If you can just keep that runner at first, it’s a different thing.”

Vierling’s steal led to the Blue Jays intentionally walking the .174-hitting Zach McKinstry, already up 2-0 in the count, but that’s not where Schneider’s focus was after the game.

Hoffman has looked steadier since being removed from the closer’s role in late May, but when balls are falling, these innings have snowballed recently with teams taking advantage of the next at-bats.

“You just want to execute better or trust your secondary stuff a little bit,” Schneider said. “It’s been a weird season for Hoff, for sure. He’s getting his strikeouts and he’s having a little bit of tough luck.”

This loss feels like many others, though, which is why it’s harsh to lay blame on an individual pitcher. Two runs rarely get the job done.

This is what else stood out from the loss:

1. WILD THING: Yesavage keeps rolling

These imperfect appearances from Yesavage feel just as encouraging as his dominant ones, because he’s still getting the job done without his ‘A’ game.

Yes, Yesavage walked three and uncorked three wild pitches, one of which led to the Tigers’ first run, but the Blue Jays will take six innings of two-run ball from Yesavage any day of the week. The dominant days will come, and there were still plenty of whiffs against his splitter Friday night to prove that.

Yesavage is self-critical at times, but even in those moments, there’s a foundation of confidence to his game. He was frustrated with his fastball control and splitter, but still liked the result.

“Even when I’m at my worst, my stuff plays,” Yesavage said.

Let’s compare today to late April, when Yesavage returned to the big leagues after a pair of uneven rehab outings with Triple-A Buffalo. Through four starts, he’s posted a 1.40 ERA with 21 strikeouts over 19 1/3 innings, most of his metrics mirroring his incredible debut from a year ago, too. He’s getting through these starts in different ways, as well, and should be cleared to push past 90 pitches his next time out. This isn’t just “going according to plan,” it’s been better.

“The training wheels are off, for sure,” Schneider said.

2. SNAP: Vladdy’s woes continue

After Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s second at-bat of the game -- a pop fly that floated to the edge of the infield dirt -- he decided he’d seen enough of that twig. Guerrero snapped the bat over his knee walking off the field, then chucked the kindling down the dugout tunnel as he walked down the steps. Good riddance.

Once again, this was not Guerrero’s day. He opened with a strikeout that perfectly captured the diagnosis from Schneider -- that he’s trying to do too much -- and ended the day 0-for-4. Guerrero even made hard contact in his final at-bat with a 105.7-mph liner to center field, but all Vladdy could do was throw his hands into the air after the ball found the center fielder’s glove.

3. STOCK UP: Valenzuela

This has crept up on people, but rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela is already tied for the MLB lead in Fielding Run Value among catchers (+6), matched only by defensive ace Patrick Bailey.

He’s done this in just 26 games after being recalled for the injured Alejandro Kirk, too, a remarkable accomplishment that backs up the scouting reports about Valenzuela’s defense in the Minor Leagues. Valenzuela’s cannon arm is the headliner here, and the easiest way to measure his defensive value watching at home, but he’s also graded out very well when it comes to framing.

Blending some public numbers with some of their own internal metrics, the Blue Jays are thrilled with what Valenzuela is doing.

“In the world of information, it’s about having the borderline strike called a strike and not having it challenged,” Schneider said. “We are pretty high, as a group, at that. In fact, I know we are. It’s about dominating those 50-50 pitches in a certain way, but his throwing really comes into play, too.”