The Toronto Blue Jays dropped their fourth straight game Wednesday with a 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
Over their past four games, Toronto has combined for just seven total runs and six extra-base hits as they fell to 16-21 on the season, tied with the Boston Red Sox for last in the American League East.
Manager John Schneider said the responsibility for the struggling offence is shared and called on the entire lineup to turn in better at-bats.
“It’s not one guy. It’s not Vlad, it’s not Kaz, it’s not George. It has to be everybody. I think over the course of this series they pitched well and they have been pitching well all year. I think that the quality up and down, you know, one through nine of the at-bats I think needs to be [a little bit more] in depth, if you will. There were some quick outs there,” Schneider said via MLB.com after Wednesday’s 3-0 loss.
Rays starter Shane McClanahan carved up Jays hitters over 5.2 innings, allowing just two hits and one walk with four strikeouts on 69 pitches. The Jays managed five hits off the Rays’ bullpen after McClanahan departed, but couldn’t string knocks together or deliver in key spots.
Schneider said in order for the Jays’ lineup to have success, it has to be one or the other.
“You either need to get a big hit or kind of just stack some at-bats together and again, can’t stress enough that it needs to be more than one guy. It can’t be one guy trying to carry the team. The at-bats just need to be better up and down the lineup,” he said.
Toronto is tied for 26th in MLB with 147 runs scored on the season. They have continued to make contact – a hallmark of last year’s success – with a league-low 249 strikeouts. But the Jays are 20th in slugging percentage (.380) and have a .652 OPS with runners in scoring position, which is second-to-last throughout MLB.
The Jays have also battled injuries to their starting rotation and with several key figures in their lineup all season. But Schneider rejected using that as an excuse for their slow start.
“You can’t fall back on the excuse that guys are hurt. It’s part of the game. So you got to just be relentless. You have to not try to do too much, then you get back to forming an identity, which I think we formed last year,” he said via Brian Murphy of MLB.com.
The Jays are off Thursday before beginning a series at home with the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. Toronto took two of three from the Angels last month in Anaheim.
Outfielder Addison Barger is expected to be back with the team after an ankle injury that has kept him out since April 5. Barger homered in two of his three rehab games with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays this week.
