DENVER -- Trips to Colorado are supposed to be all about the offense, but the Blue Jays’ gloves keep getting in the way.
Saturday’s 8-7 loss to the Rockies was a Coors Field classic, as the Blue Jays gave up eight unanswered runs until scoring twice in a wild ninth inning. Coming off a Friday night when everything about the American League Wild Card race broke Toronto’s way, this was a reminder of what the other nights feel like.
“Every game is obviously extremely important,” manager John Schneider said. “It’s a tough one to lose tonight when you have a 5-0 lead and a chance to add on or win in the ninth. You’ve got Kevin Gausman [starting the rubber game] tomorrow, and you’ve got to move on. It’s a tough one tonight.”
With the Astros (77-60) and Rangers (75-60) both losing, the Blue Jays (74-62) remained 1 1/2 games back of Texas for the final Wild Card spot and their four-game series beginning Sept. 11 in Toronto is still where all roads lead. Saturday’s loss was a missed opportunity, but also a glimpse at the newest challenge facing the Blue Jays down the stretch.
- Games remaining: at COL (1), at OAK (3), vs. KC (3), vs. TEX (4), vs. BOS (3), at NYY (3), at TB (3), vs. NYY (3), vs. TB (3)
- Standings update: Toronto remains 1 1/2 games behind Texas for the final AL Wild Card spot. Houston is one game ahead of Texas for the second spot.
- Tiebreakers: Down 2-1 in season series vs. Texas; Win vs. Houston; Lose vs. Seattle
“It’s pretty obvious that we’re playing for offense and we’re sacrificing a little bit of defense with moving guys around,” Schneider said prior to this road trip.
The decision makes some sense, given the Blue Jays’ broader offensive struggles and their season-long battle with situational hitting. It’s not a better or worse approach on the surface, only a different one, and a necessary one given the poorly timed injuries to Bo Bichette, Matt Chapman and Danny Jansen.
Toronto’s late rally was an example of just how complex this puzzle can be, with the team emptying its bench and sending rookie Spencer Horwitz to the plate for the final at-bat of the game. The Blue Jays were worried about extending the game, and if that happened, they’d figure out the rest later.
“Guys are ready for anything, whether it’s [Cavan] Biggio at third, [Santiago] Espinal at third, [Mason] McCoy at shortstop, [Ernie] Clement at shortstop. There’s a lot of moving parts, really,” Schneider said.
“If you take the lead there, Cavan’s playing shortstop, [Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s] playing third and Spencer is at first. It’s all hands on deck. They know that. You’ve got to take your shots when you can.”
Toronto has been rewarded with some big performances offensively, like Friday’s 13-run outburst, but its infield defense has balanced that out. From these first two days in Denver alone, you can point to:
Friday, Bottom 6 -- Davis Schneider’s error on a wide throw from third base to first allowed Elias Díaz to reach base to open the inning. A few batters later, Nolan Jones launched a three-run home run off Génesis Cabrera with two outs.
Saturday, Bottom 2 -- Clement’s fielding error on a routine error allowed Nolan Jones to reach base. This extended the inning for the Rockies, who eventually scored their first two runs of the game on a two-out single from Charlie Blackmon.
Saturday, Bottom 4 -- Clement’s throwing error to open the inning, which Guerrero wasn’t able to pick cleanly, allowed Sean Bouchard to reach. Ezequiel Tovar eventually doubled in a pair of runs with … you guessed it … two outs.
That’s seven runs, and while it’s a bit of an oversimplification to say that none of the seven would have scored without these errors being made, you can put one and one together.
The injuries to Chapman and Bichette, in particular, have highlighted just how good the Blue Jays have had it on their left side of the infield this season.
The numbers don’t paint Chapman as a Gold Glove third baseman in 2023, but the moment he misses time, you’re a few innings away from noticing the absence of his glove. Bichette isn’t an elite level defender, either, but he has worked tirelessly on that corner of his game and made improvements year to year.
There’s hope each returns at some point on the upcoming homestand in Toronto, but until then, the Blue Jays will either need to tighten up their defense or hit so much that these bobbles don’t matter.