TORONTO – The vibes at Rogers Centre were joyful and celebratory on Monday afternoon. Rightfully so, as the Toronto Blue Jays feted the landmark contract for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a press conference full of strong quotes and social media-worthy photo opportunities.
About eight hours later, though, as actual baseball got to being played on the field, the Atlanta Braves did their best to pop the Blue Jays’ balloon.
The visiting club staked a commanding early lead and held on for an 8-4 win over the Blue Jays in front of a paid attendance of 21,595. Austin Riley clubbed two of Atlanta’s three home runs while right-hander Grant Holmes didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning.
“That was the frustrating one,” said Blue Jays’ starter Easton Lucas.
The left-hander failed to build on the momentum he created during two impressive starts since entering the rotation in place of Max Scherzer.
Lucas had trouble locating on Monday and left some of his off-speed pitches up in the zone, which resulted in hard contact. Atlanta catcher Sean Murphy took him deep in the first inning for a two-run homer and Riley added to the tally with another two-run shot in the fourth.
In the fifth frame, Riley provided an exclamation mark when he tattooed a down-and-in slider from Lucas, sending it an estimated 444 feet into the second deck in left-centre field. It was a three-run job from the third baseman that gave Atlanta an 8-0 lead.
“That’s a good top of the lineup,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “It was a combination of [Lucas] just not locating as well as he had the previous two [starts] and good hitters taking advantage of it.”
In total, Lucas surrendered eight runs on six hits over five innings, walking four and striking out three. It’s a stark contrast to his previous work. Lucas allowed just four hits combined over 10.1 scoreless innings across his first two outings, against Washington and Boston.
“Today it’s a tough outing, but he’s been really good,” said Schneider. “And that’s why you have depth options. A week ago … everyone was raving about him. Days like today happen and he makes some tough pitches and paid the price. This is the big leagues and those are good hitters.”
Schneider lauded the fact that Lucas was able to get through five innings and the left-hander said he’ll take that as a positive from an outing that otherwise featured little good.
“That’s kind of the nightmare — having a rough outing and not going deep enough for the bullpen to not get abused,” said Lucas. “And so, having been in the bullpen, I know that yeah, it’s nice at least getting five and that was something I was happy I was able to do. But, at the same time, can’t have that bad of a result.”
Despite that, the 28-year-old is poised to get more run in the Blue Jays’ rotation as a timeline for Scherzer’s return remains murky. The veteran right-hander is still experiencing soreness in his right thumb while throwing and is set to visit a hand specialist again, according to Schneider.
Scherzer was placed on the injured list on March 30 and one day later, met with Dr. Thomas Graham and received a cortisone injection in his thumb. He’s been on the injured list since and while he did play catch during the team’s recent road trip, his thumb just hasn’t responded well, leading to a second meeting with Dr. Graham later this week.
The injury news on George Springer was more positive, with the Blue Jays outfielder considered day-to-day with inflammation in his right wrist, an issue that caused him to be removed from Sunday’s game. That’s considered the “best possible news,” said Schneider, but the absence of Springer, arguably the club’s best hitter so far this season, was felt on Monday.
Holmes carved through the Blue Jays lineup with relative ease early in the game, mixing in a fastball that sat at 94.9 m.p.h. with his four other pitches. He was efficient and commanded the strike zone while pitching into the eighth inning.
Myles Straw’s sixth-inning solo homer was the Blue Jays’ first hit of the night and Tyler Heineman’s double in the eighth off reliever Aaron Bummer plated two runs that were charged to Holmes.
“He was good,” said Schneider of the Atlanta starter. “He located really well, used both sides of the plate really well. And, we just didn’t get much going.”
Earlier in the day, the focus was on Guerrero Jr., who officially signed his 14-year, $500-million contract and was the highlight of a press conference dais alongside Rogers Communications executive chairman Edward Rogers, Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins.
Blue Jays teammates and coaches were also in the media conference room to support the first baseman, who expressed gratitude for the city, fans and organization.
“I would think about this always,” Guerrero Jr. said. “Since I signed here, I always thought I’m gonna be a Blue Jay forever and that’s what happened today. Thank God we did it and I’m going to be a Blue Jay forever.”
Guerrero Jr. received a strong ovation from the crowd before his first-inning plate appearance, but the high point of the day had come well before first pitch. Guerrero Jr. went hitless in four at-bats and is still searching for his first home run on the season. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays as a team sit last in MLB with just nine home runs.
That obviously needs to change, but things won’t get easier anytime soon with Atlanta expected to start Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider in Tuesday and Wednesday’s contests.
