HOUSTON -- Nothing tells the story of the Blue Jays¡¯ sweep at the hands of the Astros more than 9-for-90.
That was the .100 batting average they racked up over three games at Daikin Park, the last a 3-1 loss to Houston on Wednesday night that extended the Blue Jays¡¯ losing streak to five games and put them a game below .500 at 12-13.
A common factor in the sweep was the Astros¡¯ putting crooked numbers on the board when they jumped to leads. On Monday, they broke a scoreless tie with a four-run fifth. On Tuesday, they opened a 3-0 lead in the first. Wednesday, it was a three-run second inning against Bowden Francis that put Toronto in an early hole.
Francis gave up five consecutive hits, starting with a home run to Christian Walker, though he minimized the damage by retiring Yordan Alvarez on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly and stranding the remaining two runners.
¡°It¡¯d be nice, I think, to get a zero on the board and get off to a lead,¡± Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. ¡°That probably eases everyone up a little bit. And we just couldn¡¯t do that this series.
¡°They can hit. They¡¯re an aggressive team, and it seems even balls that weren¡¯t hit hard found holes this series. But yeah, I think you need one of those games where you get off to a good start, and that kind of snowballs from there.¡±
The Blue Jays have totaled a mere nine runs over their five-game skid, during which they are hitting .188 collectively. Among those struggling:
? Andrés Giménez, who has one hit in his last 17 ABs and is slashing .160/.229/.187 in April. Schneider pinch-hit for him in the ninth on Wednesday after George Springer reached on a one-out walk off Josh Hader.
? Anthony Santander, after getting Tuesday off, went 0-for-3 Wednesday with three strikeouts and is hitless in his last 17 at-bats, dropping his average to .189.
? Alejandro Kirk, who went 0-for-4 Wednesday and is 3-for-25 (.120) in his last seven games.
Home runs remain elusive for Toronto, which during its losing streak has totaled one long ball in 170 at-bats. For the year, the Blue Jays have been outhomered 33-13, with the minus-20 differential the worst in the Major Leagues.
¡°I know the guys in this locker room,¡± Springer said. ¡°Sometimes you¡¯re just gonna run into a team that¡¯s throwing the ball well. But I don¡¯t see anybody getting down.
¡°[The Astros] just have good arms. Hunter Brown obviously is one of the best in the game so far. [Ronel] Blanco throws the ball well. The starter today, [Ryan] Gusto, is deceptive, and there¡¯s a lot of velocity. As you mix deception with velocity with a lot of guys in their pen like [Josh] Hader and [Bryan] Abreu, it makes it hard to hit.¡±
Gusto limited the Blue Jays to a run on three hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out six. Springer tagged him for an RBI double that concluded Toronto¡¯s scoring in the fourth.
That followed Brown¡¯s seven scoreless innings in a 7-0 Astros win on Monday and Blanco¡¯s one-run performance in 6 2/3 innings in a 5-1 win Tuesday.
¡°Guys [are] pressing a little bit, wanting to get this thing turned around. We¡¯ve just got to get back to getting our pitch,¡± Schneider said. ¡°Pitches that I think guys usually hit they weren¡¯t getting to. I think guys wanting to get something done and maybe being a little bit antsy, that was kind of the difference today.
¡°It¡¯s a tough stretch, a tough series. You can¡¯t panic by any means.¡±
The Blue Jays managed to make things interesting in the ninth when Springer walked and went to third on pinch-hitter Ernie Clement¡¯s double. But Hader struck out Kirk before getting Myles Straw to fly out to center to end it.
¡°I think everybody believes in each other, and that¡¯s the only thing that matters,¡± said Springer, who has seen his share of team-wide slumps over his 12-year career and isn¡¯t about to panic. ¡°It¡¯s obviously still early, and I think guys are still getting their feet under them. ¡ It¡¯s over, and on to the next.¡±
The next is Yankee Stadium, where Toronto will begin a three-game series Friday against the 15-10 leaders of the American League East.