It felt like Opening Day 2.0 on Wednesday night in Dunedin, Fla., for the Blue Jays, with their prized offseason addition George Springer making his much-anticipated debut.

This one had no similarities to the thrilling 3-2 win over the Yankees back on April 1, though. The Nationals cruised past the Blue Jays, 8-2, to split the two-game series and send Toronto into its off day at 11-12. The night still marked a new beginning, though, even if it¡¯s one Steven Matz would like to forget.

Matz, who entered with wins in all four of his starts and a 2.31 ERA, gave up six runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings, bumping that ERA up to 4.00. They weren¡¯t all rockets, other than Josh Harrison¡¯s three-run home run in the fourth, but Matz¡¯s batted-ball luck was due to balance out eventually, after he entered this start with a .214 BABIP against, well below his career average of .298.

Those balls that snuck through the infield are just ¡°part of the game,¡± Matz says, but the one part of Wednesday¡¯s loss he wanted to control better was his swing-and-miss stuff.

¡°It¡¯s location more than anything, especially with my changeup,¡± Matz said. ¡°My changeup was in the zone a little more today, and I talked to [pitching coach Pete Walker] about that. I need more of my changeup [moving] from strike to ball, versus carrying more of the zone the entire time. I think that¡¯s the biggest thing, it¡¯s location for me.¡±

One month ago, Matz projected as a mid-rotation starter who the Blue Jays hoped to get a full, consistent season from. Going into Thursday¡¯s off day with Hyun Jin Ryu, top prospect Nate Pearson and several other arms on the IL, he¡¯s the club¡¯s de facto No. 1 starter.

? Ryu placed on IL with right glute strain

Matz has lived up to that unexpected role for the most part, and was the best story of the Blue Jays¡¯ pitching staff through most of April. One start won¡¯t change that, but with each injury to this rotation, healthy arms like Matz become more and more important.

Frankly, any healthy, stretched-out starter is a valuable commodity on the staff right now, as the Blue Jays already plan to roll with another bullpen day on Saturday against Atlanta before Ross Stripling -- if all goes well -- returns from the IL to start the Sunday finale.

¡°That¡¯s definitely something I like to take pride in, with my work in between starts and being able to take the ball every fifth day. I really take pride in that,¡± Matz said. ¡°I¡¯ll just continue with my routine and trust in the process. Ultimately, I wish I could have gone deeper in this game and [gotten] the team another win to keep the ball rolling, but I¡¯ll stick to my routine. I¡¯ve been feeling good and I still feel good and healthy.¡±

Springer¡¯s debut came on a quiet night for the Blue Jays¡¯ offense, particularly coming on the heels of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.¡¯s three-homer performance the night before. Lourdes Gurriel Jr.¡¯s solo home run, his first of the season, and Bo Bichette¡¯s solo blast in the eighth represented the entire offense as Springer went 0-for-4 with three lineouts and a groundout.

Starting at DH, it was difficult to extract much from Springer¡¯s first game with the Blue Jays, but manager Charlie Montoyo was pleased with his first glimpse of Springer in the leadoff spot.

¡°He ran fine,¡± Montoyo said, which is key when coming off a quad strain. ¡°He saw a lot of pitches, which is good. That¡¯s what you want him to do, is get a lot of pitches and see a lot of pitches so he can get his timing back. He looks normal to me, which is good.¡±

One positive to draw from the uninspiring loss came from Jordan Romano, the Canadian right-hander who¡¯s back off the IL after rehabbing from right ulnar neuritis, and hasn¡¯t quite looked like himself this season after a breakout 2020 campaign. Romano worked a clean inning with one strikeout and cranked his fastball up to 99.3 mph, which is welcome news in a Blue Jays bullpen that, much like the rotation, is dealing with multiple injuries.