TORONTO — It has not been an easy season for the Toronto Blue Jays’ relievers.
The group has been in the bottom five this season per collective ERA. There has been a decline in performance from some regulars, notably Erik Swanson, who was optioned to the minors last month and continues to work through his struggles in Triple-A Buffalo. They’ve also had to operate without closer Jordan Romano for large chunks of the season as he’s been on the injured list twice with elbow inflammation.
But for all the low moments Toronto’s bullpen has experienced this season, Saturday’s 5-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians will go down as a highlight for the relievers, who executed a perfect bullpen day against the AL Central-leading club, holding them scoreless through nine innings.
As late as Friday night, the Blue Jays were working through potential pitching plans for Saturday’s start, which aligns with the fifth starter spot that used to be Alek Manoah’s until he suffered a season-ending elbow injury.
The Blue Jays opted to go with a bullpen day against the Guardians. Trevor Richards, who has become Toronto’s de facto opener, kicked off the game with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing a hit with one strikeout. Tim Mayza and Zach Pop combined to finish the third inning before Bowden Francis handled the bulk of the middle innings. Génesis Cabrera and Nate Pearson finished the game with scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
The plan unfurled perfectly, partly because, as Blue Jays manager John Schneider put it, “Five runs made it work,” after the lineup put up a three-run lead in the second inning and then added a couple of insurance runs later. But Schneider also said he liked how their pitchers matched up against Cleveland, regardless.
“Trevor being comfortable opening and navigating a left-handed lineup,” Schneider said. “Having Bowden in that (bulk) role is really flexible and other guys covering certain spots of the order whether it’s right or lefty, they matched up pretty well.”
Trevor Richards, Mean Changeups. 👌👌 pic.twitter.com/5lNJkfDUgR
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 15, 2024
Francis was coming off his best performance of the season after he pitched four scoreless innings against the Oakland A’s in his first start since early April. It was an outing the Blue Jays hoped could give the right-hander some positive momentum and Schneider has seen Francis look more comfortable reaching into his full arsenal in his past two outings.
Against the Guardians, Francis generated weak contact while scattering four hits over four scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
“He’s using all of his pitches really well, splitter was good today — splitter was really good to the lefties,” the Blue Jays manager said. “Landed his curveball and located his fastball, so a couple of good outings in a row for him, which is really encouraging. But I liked the way that he’s using all of his pitches really and it’s allowing him to, I think, get a little bit deeper and be effective against lefties.”
This season, when handed a pristine pitching performance, the Blue Jays’ offence hasn’t always handled their side of the equation. But that wasn’t the case Saturday.
The Blue Jays went up 3-0 in the second inning, extending their lead as the best second-inning scoring team in the majors. In a season full of underwhelming offensive stats, this is one — albeit niche in nature — where the Blue Jays stand above the rest, with 50 second-inning runs — seven more than the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers.
Justin Turner began the second by earning a walk against Guardians starter Carlos Carrasco. Daulton Varsho followed with a double and then George Springer drove in the game’s first run with a single up the middle. Addison Barger, making his first start since he was recalled on Friday, recorded his first career RBI when he singled to left to drive in Varsho. Spencer Horwitz rounded out the scoring with his own RBI single.
Barger said after the game he feels more comfortable at this level compared to his earlier stint with the Blue Jays this season, during which he went 1-for-18.
“Last time everything happened really fast and it was a new thing,” said Barger, who went 1-for-3 with a walk on Saturday. “I know what to expect more now and am more comfortable.”
The Blue Jays added a run in each of the fourth and fifth innings, finishing with five runs on six hits against the veteran Carrasco, who also had two walks and two strikeouts.
Overall, the offence’s performance — which came without Bo Bichette, who was not in the lineup because of a sore right calf — made it easier for Schneider to map out his bullpen usage the way he wanted while allowing Francis to get as deep into the game as he could.
“You go through a lot of different scenarios before the game as to how you want each part of the lineup to be attacked, and I think getting the runs early just allows a pretty clean handoff for Bowden,” Schneider said. “Then you add on a couple more and as you add on, you can lengthen him out.”
Looking ahead to when this turn will come up in the rotation again, the Blue Jays could use a similar bullpen day strategy, with Francis in the bulk role. Or Yariel Rodríguez, who is making what is expected to be his last rehab outing in Triple A on Sunday, could be a factor as a more traditional starter. The Blue Jays have a decision to make, and after Saturday, Francis has given them something to think about.
“Hopefully Yariel is good tomorrow and feels good afterwards and we have a decision to make as to how we go forward,” Schneider said. “But I think what Bowden has shown is that he’s not afraid to be in a shorter stint for one or two innings, but the fact that he can throw all those pitches and throw them where he wants to throw them has been really encouraging for him.”
(Photo of Génesis Cabrera: Nick Turchiaro / USA Today)
