Columnist image

| Archive

Starter Jaime Garcia gives up four earned runs on seven hits in the same inning as the surging Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 at Comerica Park on Friday night. TSN Baseball Reporter Scott Mitchell provides his key takeaways from the game:

GAME 57, JUNE 1: JAYS at TIGERS

RESULT: 5-2 loss

RECORD: 25-32

STREAK: L4

1—More of the same to begin the month of June

The Jays lost their fourth straight Friday in the series opener in Detroit, and after going just 9-19 in the month of May with a run differential of -54, the hot 12-5 start is long forgotten.

Since those first 17 games, John Gibbons’ club is just 13-27 and playing poorly in just about every way.

The bullpen fell apart in May, registering a 5.12 ERA as a group, the second worst mark in the AL.

The starters weren’t much better with a 5.51 ERA to sit 11th.

While it was obvious the Jays were struggling to get outs, the offence also dried up, averaging just 3.8 runs per game and hitting .224 as a team, the second worst batting average in the AL.

There really aren’t many positives to point out right now.

2—Garcia knocked around in worst start of season

In a season filled with bad outings, Jaime Garcia authored his worst yet, getting hit around by the Tigers and lasting just 1.2 innings.

Coming off his best start of the season, a seven-inning gem, the southpaw allowed seven hits and four earned runs, all in the second inning, before Gibbons had seen enough.

The ugly outing jumped Garcia’s ERA from 5.52 to 6.08 and it’s looking more and more like the Jays will be opting to buy him out this winter for $2 million rather than exercise a $10 million club option.

Garcia also has bonuses of $500,000 coming at 150, 160, 170 and 180 innings, but he won’t get anywhere near those thresholds if he continues to pitch like this.

His next turn is lined up for Thursday at home against the Baltimore Orioles.

3—Hernandez continues piling up triples

Teoscar Hernandez hadn’t hit a triple in his first 68 big-league games, but the 25-year-old already has four of them this season, registering his 25th extra-base hit of the season Friday as part of a 3-for-5 night.

Hernandez has three multi-hit games on the road trip and is tied for the team lead in OPS with Justin Smoak at .824.

4—Bullpen starts month with good night

Thanks to Garcia, the bullpen was forced to heat things up early, and they responded by allowing just one run over 6.1 innings to keep the Jays within striking distance.

Danny Barnes (1.1 innings), Joe Biagini (three innings) and John Axford (one inning) — the Canadian reliever also became the first player to ride the Comerica Park bullpen cart to the mound — all provided scoreless outings, while Tyler Clippard was tagged for a solo home run by Nicholas Castellanos in the seventh inning.

There could be some attractive trade bait in this ’pen if they time it right and pitch well over the next eight weeks.

5—Donaldson lands on DL, Grichuk and Diaz return

After being adamant their star third baseman wouldn’t need a DL stint, that’s exactly where Josh Donaldson ended up Friday, thanks to “left calf tightness.”

The move was backdated to May 29, allowing Donaldson to return as early as next Friday against Baltimore.

Left-handed reliever Tim Mayza was recalled from Triple-A to replace Donaldson on the roster, and he wasn’t even with the team by the time the game started.

Earlier in the day, the Jays activated outfielder Randal Grichuk (knee sprain) and shortstop Aledmys Diaz (ankle sprain), sending right-hander Jake Petricka and outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. to Triple-A Buffalo.

Suddenly, the Jays are back to a Diaz-Devon Travis middle infield, while Grichuk is likely destined to share at-bats with Curtis Granderson, leaving Kevin Pillar and Hernandez as everyday options.

UP NEXT: LHP J.A. Happ (7-3, 3.84) vs. LHP Matt Boyd (3-4, 3.00)

VLAD JR. WATCH: The Fisher Cats were supposed to host a double-header against Tim Tebow and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies on Friday, but rain got in the way, leaving Vladdy Jr. at .417 heading into the weekend. He’s just 1-for-8 over his past two games.​