If the Blue Jays want to go to the postseason, they have to be consistent in every phase of the game. In the first leg of Friday’s seven-inning doubleheader -- during which they were the home team at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia -- Toronto was able to get just enough from left-hander Robbie Ray, but the offense was missing in action in a 7-0 blanking by the Phillies -- the club's second shutout this season.

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The Blue Jays have lost four consecutive games, dropping their record to 26-24. Despite the loss, Toronto still owns the eighth seed in the Wild Card race and has a four-game lead ahead of the Mariners.

“We are a really good team. We can hit. We have guys that can pitch,” Ray said. “I just think everybody needs to relax, go out and do what they need to do. It’s been magnified a little bit because we lost a few in a row here. If we just calm down and take it pitch to pitch on both sides of the ball, we’ll be fine.”

The Blue Jays were recently swept by the Yankees and vowed to put the series behind them. But Ray got off to a slow start in the first inning, allowing an RBI double to Didi Gregorius and throwing 30 pitches.

Ray settled down, retiring 12 of the next 14 hitters he faced. But he suddenly lost it in the fifth inning. After striking out Roman Quinn to start the inning, Ray allowed three consecutive hits. The biggest blow came when Bryce Harper hit a two-run homer to extend Philly’s lead to 3-0.

Reliever Thomas Hatch didn’t fare much better when he entered the game in the same inning. He allowed an RBI single to Phil Gosselin and a two-run triple to catcher Andrew Knapp. Hatch, who entered the day with a 2.11 ERA, would allow an RBI single to Alec Bohm an inning later.

Phillies right-hander Zach Eflin confused the Blue Jays at the plate with his curveball. He tossed his third career shutout and recorded the fifth complete game of his career.  

“We had a game plan going in and mixing in a little more offspeed,” Eflin said. “So, that worked out obviously in the first inning and kind of carried that momentum. I was having good spin on it and knew it was going to work, so I just kind of went with that and made them respect all the pitches I was throwing up there.”

Toronto collected just four hits, two of which came off the bat of Cavan Biggio. The Blue Jays had runners in scoring position twice in the game. The most serious threat came in the seventh inning. With runners on second and third with two outs, Travis Shaw struck out to end the game.