SEATTLE -- For the Blue Jays, the frustrating song remains the same.
On Friday night at T-Mobile Park, Toronto continued its July slide in a 5-2 extra innings loss to Seattle. Toronto hitters got 12 hits, but stranded 13 runners and finished just 2-for-20 with runners in scoring position.
On a day where Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk were named American League All-Star Game starters, Toronto dropped its seventh game in its past eight contests.
Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suárez ended it with a three-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th inning.
“We did get the hits, but with men in scoring position, we just tried too hard it seems like,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. “... There were some good at-bats, but other ones that weren’t as great.”
The Blue Jays had plenty of chances to score, but couldn’t take advantage when opportunities arose. In the 10th, Matt Chapman came to the plate with one out and Teoscar Hernández serving as the automatic runner at second base. Chapman lined out to Seattle shortstop J.P. Crawford, who then flipped the ball to second base to double off Hernández and end the inning. It continued a troubling trend as Toronto has now stranded at least seven runners in three consecutive games.
“I mean, 2-for-20 is not going to cut it,” Montoyo said. “But it’s funny, like, 3-for-20 would’ve won this game. It’s amazing.”
The Blue Jays got on the board first, when Hernández led off the top of the second with a single, stole second, and then scored on a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. RBI single. The Mariners tied it in the bottom of the second on an RBI double from right fielder Dylan Moore against Toronto starter Ross Stripling, and then took a 2-1 lead in the third when Crawford drove in Julio Rodríguez with a double.
Toronto evened the game again in the fifth, when Guerrero led off the inning with a double, and then scored on a Hernández single. Gurriel's single promptly ended Mariners starter George Kirby's night, but reliever Penn Murfee came in and retired Chapman and Santiago Espinal to prevent any further damage. No runs would score until the 11th.
Suárez hit the walk-off against former Mariner Sergio Romo to send the Blue Jays to a 2-7 record in the month of July.
“We know we’re not playing even close to our best brand of baseball,” Stripling said. “I think you can feel us. … I wouldn’t say we’re pressing, I wouldn’t say we’re panicking, but, you know, I just think that you can tell it’s not right either.”
For the Blue Jays, the offensive struggles have been constant. Prior to Friday’s contest, Toronto hitters had drawn no walks in three of the past four games, which Montoyo attributed to impatience on the part of the hitters.
After their latest loss, the Blue Jays have now scored three or fewer runs in six consecutive games. Despite this, Toronto still remains third in the AL with a .430 slugging percentage and a .755 OPS. Montoyo is confident that his team will be able to turn things around.
“We have plenty of baseball left,” Montoyo said. “I’m sure this lineup is going to get hot again and we’re going to score runs. Credit again to our pitching, they gave us a chance today.”
Stripling pitched five innings and allowed two earned runs on seven hits and one walk against six strikeouts.
“It just kind of feels like we’re not clicking on both cylinders right now,” Stripling explained. “It’s kind of like, when we pitch well we don’t necessarily score a bunch of runs, and when we score a bunch of runs, we don’t pitch well. … It just seems like this team, we’re over halfway and we haven’t totally started clicking on all cylinders yet.”