'We're right there': Urgency at its apex for Blue Jays after being blanked by A's

WEST SACRAMENTO -- On consecutive plays in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s 2-0 loss against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park, George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed fly balls deep into the outfield, momentarily lifting heads and spirits in the Blue Jays’ first-base dugout.

Blanked through seven innings and facing a two-run deficit, Toronto needed any modicum of offense it could muster, especially from two of its most seasoned hitters. But both promising drives settled into gloves on the warning track -- Springer’s in center field, Guerrero’s in left -- and just like that, the inning was over.

It was a picture-perfect illustration of how the Blue Jays came up short against the A’s, both in Wednesday’s loss and in a series defeat in West Sacramento that is likely to cost them. Instead of potentially catching the Guardians for the third and final American League Wild Card spot, the Blue Jays (73-74) fell to 1 1/2 games back of Cleveland with only 15 games to play.

“It was a frustrating way to end an otherwise pretty good road trip,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.

Losing two out of three to an A’s team that entered the day 30 games under .500 at 58-88 -- including Monday’s 6-5 walk-off loss -- will certainly put a damper on a three-city tour that featured series wins for the Blue Jays in both Cleveland and Kansas City. Their win over the Guardians in last Thursday’s rubber match gave them a crucial head-to-head tiebreaker -- crucial, that is, if Toronto can play well enough to catch Cleveland down the stretch.

The Blue Jays, with their run to last season’s World Series still on their minds, sure believe they can.

“We’re right there,” Springer said. “All you want is a chance in September.”

Ten games below .500 as recently as late July, Toronto has at least given itself that opportunity. Seven straight series wins -- against such foes as the Astros, Phillies, Red Sox and Yankees -- helped right the ship, vaulting the Blue Jays back into postseason contention.

So how did a fourth-place A’s team missing its top five hitters from its season-opening game at Rogers Centre, as well as Opening Day starting pitcher Luis Severino, manage to win a series against the defending AL champions? The A’s have done it before, too, taking two of three from the Blue Jays in the clubs’ first-ever matchup at Sutter Health Park last July.

“They always play us tough,” Schneider said.

While refusing to give excuses for the loss, the Blue Jays' skipper pointed to temperatures approaching triple digits and a quick turnaround from Tuesday night’s 4-2 win (Wednesday’s game had a 12:05 p.m. first pitch) as contributing factors for a club on the road for nine games in three cities without an off-day.

“It’s a tough place to play here,” Schneider said. “It’s the ninth game of a tough road trip. It’s definitely a different atmosphere here, but I thought the guys were ready to play and didn’t get it done today.”

Toronto came close to breaking through in the fifth inning when Brett Bateman doubled and pinch-hitter Nathan Lukes singled with one out. But Guerrero chopped the first pitch he saw back to reliever Scott Blewett, who started a 1-4-3 double play to escape the jam and keep the Blue Jays off the board.

It was one of the “quick at-bats” Schneider lamented from a team that often lacked patience during Wednesday’s finale, particularly with runners on base.

“When you have some traffic out there, it’s just getting a good pitch to hit,” Schneider said. “No one wants to do that more than Vlad. A lot of times, [he] or anyone is waiting for a pitch you can do a little bit more with.”

Springer and Guerrero both did just that in the eighth, but A’s center fielder Denzel Clarke tracked down Springer’s 104.1 mph, Statcast-projected 396-foot drive just shy of the outfield wall. Guerrero’s 95.7 mph, 370-foot fly ball died on the track in left.

Instead of closing the gap on the A’s, the Blue Jays only tightened their margin for error for the rest of the season. With a favorable schedule -- all of their remaining opponents have records below .500 -- they know exactly what’s to come.

“This team’s going to be playing some meaningful baseball over the next 15, 16 days,” Springer said. “I think everybody in that locker room believes in each other and understands the mission and knows what has to happen.”