Blue Jays coming up short despite quality starts

TORONTO -- They call it a quality start for a reason.

When your starting pitcher delivers at least six innings pitched and three or fewer earned runs, that’s usually enough to win a ballgame. But on Wednesday against the Royals, Chris Bassitt’s quality outing didn’t cut it. Once again, the Blue Jays’ offense couldn’t scrape together enough support to turn a quality starting pitching effort into a win, as the Blue Jays fell 6-1 to the Royals at Rogers Centre.

“I think a lot can turn really fast,” Bassitt said. “I think a lot of guys are frustrated with where we're at right now.”

For a moment, it seemed like any offense would’ve been enough for Toronto. For five innings, Bassitt chopped through Kansas City’s bats, teasing a no-hitter with near perfection.

Bassitt punched out four Royals and induced plenty of easy ground balls for the defense behind him before the no-hit bid ended in the sixth inning. Kyle Isbel put Kansas City’s first knock on the board with a loopy liner to left field for a double, opening up an inning in which the Royals pushed across three runs to end Bassitt’s day.

“I think he had a great game, overall really. Five no-hit innings, a flair, a bunt, and a couple ground balls that got through,” manager John Schneider said. “Five no-hit innings is pretty damn good.”

Bassitt’s outing finished at six innings and three earned runs against -- a quality start. Until that sixth, he held the Royals completely quiet. The only problem was Toronto’s bats were held even quieter.

The lone run the Blue Jays could push across the board on Wednesday was a Danny Jansen solo shot in the seventh, his third of the season. The Jays managed just four hits in the loss.

Wednesday’s game was a familiar script for these Blue Jays. Less than 24 hours earlier, Toronto fell 4-1 in an eerily similar game in which José Berríos pitched seven innings of two-run ball and was tagged with the loss. Blue Jays pitchers held opposing bats to four or fewer runs in seven of their last 10 games. Toronto won just two of those seven contests.

The pitching is unquestionably there for Toronto. The Blue Jays ended Wednesday’s game with a rotation ERA of 3.97 and the fifth-most quality starts in baseball. But the bats haven’t always capitalized, with Toronto scoring 110 runs entering Wednesday, the fifth-fewest in MLB.

“It’s May 1st. It will come, it will be better. That’s what I can say to [the fans],” Schneider said. “I hope that our fans trust the fact that we have really good players and they understand they’re not performing up to their expectations. I hope they know that we will be better.”

The Jays have a rotation that carried the team to the postseason last year and is clearly capable of doing so again in 2024. But even the best rotations need a little run support.

The Blue Jays’ offense has shown flashes of what they need. Twice in Toronto’s first four games this season the team scored eight or more runs. But in April, the bats went quiet and Toronto averaged just 3.33 runs per contest. With the calendar flipping to May, the bats stayed silent.

If Toronto’s lineup starts clicking, quality starts from the pitching staff will be more than enough. But until then, strong pitching outings may continue to go wasted.

“When it does click, I think you're gonna see a complete game of baseball,” Schneider said. “Right now, again, it hasn't worked consistently. But again, it will be better.”