The Blue Jays were riding high following a couple of big moves at Thursday’s trade deadline, but then the Kansas City Royals rolled into town and caused them to crash back down.
A three-game homestand began on a sour note with right-hander Kevin Gausman allowing five runs on six hits, including two homers. The offence then did little to help him out against veteran righty Michael Wacha in a 9-3 loss on Friday night.
The Jays have lost five of their last six games after storming out of the all-star break with an 8-1 record. They need to win Saturday and Sunday to avoid losing back-to-back series for the first time since the middle of May.
Here’s everything you need to know about what took place at the Rogers Centre:
Going, going, Gausman
Gausman entered this game on a roll. He had allowed just one run on five hits while striking out 18 over his previous 13 innings. The 34-year-old dominated contenders in those outings — the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers — but wasn’t nearly as effective against the now 55-55 Royals. In the second inning, Royals trade deadline acquisition Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-run homer to centre. The following inning, Gausman served up a three-run shot to star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. The Royals finished the night by tacking on three runs against lefty reliever Mason Fluharty.
Vladdy being Vladdy
One of the only bright spots for the Jays occurred in the first when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a solo homer to left. Guerrero’s 16th home run of the season was a no-doubter that travelled an estimated 428 feet. That gave the Jays an early lead, but the momentum was short lived as Gausman surrendered homers in the second and third. Wacha got through eight innings and allowed just the one run on three hits and zero walks. After he departed, Addison Barger hit a two-run homer in the ninth off former Jay Thomas Hatch.
Star sports columnist Gregor Chisholm joins the “Deep Left Field” podcast to review the Jays’
France, Varland and Varsho
Prior to the series opener, the Jays officially introduced starter Shane Bieber, reliever Louis Varland and utilityman Ty France to the media. All three were acquired prior to the deadline and arrived the following day to meet their new teammates. The Jays also welcomed back centre-fielder Daulton Varsho to the big-league roster. Varsho had been out since May 31 with a strained hamstring.
France got the start at designated hitter and went 0-for-4 with two groundouts, a line out and a strikeout, while Varland required just 14 pitches to get through a scoreless seventh. The former Twin got the first two batters he faced to ground out before striking out Kyle Isbel on an 89-m.p.h. knuckle curve. Varsho went 0-for-3 with a pop-up and two strikeouts.
“I’m excited, this is a great baseball team,” France said when asked about joining the Jays. “It’s always nice coming into a winning environment, a winning atmosphere. You can’t ask for more than playing meaningful baseball at this time of the year. I’m excited to be here and we’ll see where things go.”
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