Blue Jays can't overcome 'tough luck' 

TORONTO -- Not much went right for the Blue Jays on Saturday.

Though Aaron Sanchez went six innings for the second straight start -- an encouraging sign for the 26-year-old right-hander who has had issues with his throwing hand for the entire season -- he struggled with his command and walked four while allowing five runs in the eventual 6-0 loss to the D-backs at Rogers Centre.

Arizona did most of its damage in the third inning, opening the frame with four straight hits, including a shallow bloop single and a missed play at first with speedy D-backs outfielder -- and former Blue Jays farmhand -- Tim Locastro beating Sanchez to the bag.

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“It’s always the one inning,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “But actually today it was kind of tough luck. It was a bloop single, an infield hit, the [play] where he didn’t cover first, so he didn’t really get hit in that inning. But it has happened, that one inning. Because he looked good today after that.”

Added Sanchez: “I thought I threw the ball well. I made pitches when I needed to make pitches. I gave up five runs, but if you go back and look at the hits and the situations where I gave up those runs, things just fell and they put the bat on the ball and they found holes.”

And despite a couple of very loud singles for the lineup -- a 405-footer off the centre-field wall from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the first, and a 340-foot knock that hit the top of the wall in right off the bat of Justin Smoak in the sixth -- the Blue Jays couldn’t string together multiple hits in any inning, notching just one extra-base hit in the game, a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. triple in the seventh to end Arizona starter Zack Greinke’s day and send the D-backs to the bullpen.

“It’s just that things are not happening right now,” Gurriel Jr. said. “We’re all young, we know that, but we are in the big leagues. It’s just not happening right now.”

Entering play on Saturday, Toronto’s lineup had hit an American League-low .209 at home, scoring 3.81 runs per game at Rogers Centre, ranking it second-to-last in the AL before those numbers dipped even further against Arizona.

“One thing we’ve got to remember,” Montoyo said. “Because the team is not hitting, there’s more pressure on all of these kids to do more, and it’s not fair.”

Sanchez has now gone eight straight starts without a win, his last victory coming on April 27 against Oakland. Since then, the righty has gone 0-6 with a 5.71 ERA over 41 innings, leaving multiple starts early because of issues with his throwing hand, from blisters to broken fingernails to nail avulsions.

With the four walks Sanchez allowed on Saturday, he brought his season total to 40 free passes, tied for the second most in the American League. He has also gone 19 straight games with multiple walks, the longest active streak in the Majors, and tied for the second-longest string in franchise history.

“Fingers, probably,” Sanchez said of the difference in his ability to command the ball. “There are no excuses but when there are no problems and when there are problems, it’s a totally different picture. It’s just something I’ve got to battle. I don’t like looking out there and seeing that I’ve got 40 walks, but you can’t take it back now. You’ve just got to keep plugging along. That’s all I can really do.”

Toronto has now lost three straight games and has dropped 13 of its last 16 matchups. The Blue Jays have gone 9-27 over their last 36 games, and have set a new season low at 18 games under .500. D-backs pitchers notched 11 strikeouts on Saturday, marking the 31st time this season the Blue Jays have struck out at least 10 times in a game.