CLEVELAND -- The Blue Jays spent the first week of the season flirting with being no-hit on a seemingly nightly basis. On the first day of the second week, it almost happened again.
Freddy Galvis broke up Cleveland's bid for a no-hitter with a leadoff single in the top of the ninth inning off reliever Brad Hand. It was the fourth time this season the Blue Jays were held without a hit through at least the first six innings of a game, and the latest put them in serious danger of being no-hit for the first time since James Paxton threw one on May 8, 2018.
Toronto went hitless for seven innings before Indians starter Trevor Bauer was pulled from the game after 117 pitches. It was the second time this season a Blue Jays' opposing starting pitcher left the game with a no-hitter still intact, but this time, just like the first, the bullpen wasn’t able to take it the rest of the way.
"I think we're pressing right now," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said of a team that has scored three runs or fewer in five of its eight games. "Just because everybody's struggling at the same time. Every at-bat seems like it means so much to everybody that everybody's trying to do too much. So, we've got to find a way to relax and it starts by getting hits. It's been a struggle the first eight games. But like I've said before, I know we're going to find it."
The history of no-hitters for the Blue Jays and Indians is intertwined. Cleveland’s last no-hitter came against Toronto when Len Barker tossed a perfect game on May 15, 1981. The only no-hitter in franchise history by a Blue Jays pitcher also took place in Cleveland when Dave Stieb did not allow a hit on Sept. 2, 1990. Galvis' late single meant Cleveland has now gone 6,010 straight games without a no-hitter, the second-longest streak in AL history (1912-52 Tigers, 6,108).
The Blue Jays’ lack of offense has been an ongoing concern throughout the opening stages of the season. Toronto entered play on Thursday 1-for-64 (.079) the first time through the order and those numbers dropped even lower when the club went 0-for-6 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch the first time through in the series opener. Toronto is batting just .131 through the first six innings of games in 2019. Not surprisingly, given those numbers, the club has been no-hit into the sixth in four of its eight games this season. Detroit’s Jordan Zimmermann and Matt Moore along with Baltimore’s David Hess were responsible for the others.
Bauer deserves much of the credit even though he battled control problems at times. The 28-year-old struck out eight and walked six while throwing 75 of his 117 pitches for strikes. He became the first pitcher in Major League history to toss at least five innings in each of his first two starts of the season and allow one or no hits.
"He's fierce, a good competitor," Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen said of Bauer. "He's got a lot of weapons. He took advantage of some walks and he just happened to put us away with some good stuff. He’s a really good arm for a reason."
The lack of offense meant that Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez was saddled with the loss despite deserving a much better fate. Sanchez allowed two runs on five hits while walking two over six strong innings. His lone blemish came in the fourth when he was touched up for a pair of runs on a fielder's choice by Greg Allen and sacrifice fly by Roberto Perez. Sanchez didn't exactly get any favors in the field during that inning, with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. booting a potential double play ball at first.
"You've got to continue to pitch," Sanchez said when asked about the Blue Jays' offensive struggles. "You've got to continue to pick them up. That's what we're going to do and that's what we've been doing. It will come around. These guys know what they're doing and it just happens to be what it is. There's no point in trying to panic now. We're only four, five, six or seven games in, whatever we are. There's a lot of season left. Sometimes seasons start like that."