CHICAGO -- The Blue Jays arrived at Wrigley Field riding momentum.
They had just swept the Red Sox in Boston. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had finally homered again. Shane Bieber is in Chicago and trending toward a return next week. For the first time in a while, there was a feeling that Toronto was beginning to turn a corner.
A few hours later, nearly everything that could go wrong did.
The Cubs scored seven runs in the first inning against Kevin Gausman and never looked back, handing the Blue Jays a lopsided 16-2 loss on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
The defeat dropped Toronto to 37-39 and spoiled an opportunity to climb closer to the .500 mark after an encouraging series at Fenway Park.
"It starts with me," Gausman said. "I kind of set the tone for the game. Four walks in the first, you're just not putting yourself in a good spot."
The right-hander's outing unraveled almost immediately.
Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman opened the game with walks before Seiya Suzuki skied a ball down the right-field line that glanced off Jesús Sánchez's glove for a two-run double. Gausman then issued two more walks and eventually served up a grand slam to Carson Kelly, who launched a first-pitch hanging slider into the left-field seats to cap a seven-run inning.
"Look, Gausman's not easy. He's one of the better guys at avoiding the walk," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. "We did a good job against him to get that rally moving. ... We made him come in the zone and we laid off the split down and laid off the slider away for the righties. And that's important."
By the time the dust settled, Gausman had thrown 44 pitches in the opening frame.
"You don't really see Kev walk that many guys," manager John Schneider said. "I think it was just his command of everything, he never really settled in. It was uncharacteristic of him."
The outing was particularly surprising given where Gausman appeared to be trending. Just six days earlier, he delivered one of the best starts of his season, allowing one hit across seven innings against the Yankees.
Instead, Friday marked his shortest start of the year. Gausman lasted only two innings, allowing seven runs on 68 pitches (35 strikes).
"I wish I could point to something," Gausman said. "The walks more than anything. Four walks in one inning. That's not normally me."
The damage extended well beyond the scoreboard.
Toronto entered Friday already leaning heavily on its bullpen, and Gausman's early exit forced Schneider to piece together six innings from the rest of his staff. Brendon Little, recalled before the game when Chad Dallas was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo, was among the relievers called upon as the Cubs continued to add on. He allowed four runs on two hits and three walks.
Even as the game got away from Toronto, another storyline briefly grabbed attention.
Guerrero exited in the sixth inning after appearing uncomfortable on a swing, raising concerns given the back tightness that recently cost him a pair of games. Schneider said afterward that the move was precautionary and largely influenced by the score.
"He's doing all right," Schneider said. "Just kind of on the one swing, a little bit tight with his back. It seemed like that may have been a game he was coming out of anyway."
Schneider added that Guerrero is expected to be available Saturday and does not require imaging.
That news represented one of the few positives from an otherwise forgettable afternoon.
Toronto managed only two runs and was held in check by Cubs starter Ben Brown, while the pitching staff issued 11 walks overall.
"Eleven walks, you're just not going to have success if you keep doing that," Gausman said. "It starts with me."
The Blue Jays will now look to turn the page quickly.
Bieber, who rejoined the club in Chicago, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Saturday. Schneider said all signs continue to point toward the former Cy Young Award winner being activated next week, a potential boost for a pitching staff that desperately needed a smoother day than the one it experienced Friday.
For one afternoon at Wrigley Field, though, there was little for the Blue Jays to build on.
Just a game they'd prefer to forget.