Ray stays calm after exchange with O's Hyde

BALTIMORE -- On Thursday, the Blue Jays swept the Yankees in four games without allowing them to take a single lead, something that hadn’t happened in the Bronx in nearly a century. On Friday, they lost to the worst team in the American League.

Robbie Ray almost looked mortal for an inning against Baltimore, allowing two home runs in the first inning, an old Achilles’ heel that he’d been avoiding. Ray kept the damage to that, grinding through 4 1/3 innings, but the Orioles were supposed to help his Cy Young case, not hurt it. The 6-3 loss at Camden Yards snapped Toronto’s eight-game winning streak and was the Blue Jays' first loss in September, though, so they’ve put themselves in a position to take the odd bump in the road.

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With the Yankees taking an ugly loss of their own on Friday to the Mets, the Blue Jays remain just a half-game back of New York for the second AL Wild Card spot.

“Part of our success has been that our starters are going deep,” said manager Charlie Montoyo. “Today, it was a struggle for Robbie, but he did what he does and kept us in the game. Of course he had many pitches, then [Adam] Cimber came in and kept us in the game, too, but that was it. It starts with the starting rotation and Robbie just didn’t go deep enough into the game. But I give him a lot of credit for keeping us in it.”

With Ray’s ERA still sitting at 2.69, he’s set to challenge Gerrit Cole of the Yankees for the AL’s top pitching honor through the rest of September. Much of that relies on Cole’s tight left hamstring, which forced him to leave his last outing against the Blue Jays. But the star right-hander is scheduled to throw a bullpen on Saturday and could pitch against these same Orioles on Tuesday. Ray will have a few more chances to add to his 2021 resumé, with Friday being an outlier from an otherwise brilliant season.

The real fun started in the second inning, though, when some chatter from the Orioles’ dugout came across the broadcast loud and clear. Ray stepped off the mound, looking over, which is when Orioles’ manager Brandon Hyde took over with some choice words. This continued through the inning, and it wasn’t exactly subtle. By the time Ray escaped without allowing a run, he slowly walked back towards his own dugout staring back over his left shoulder.

“I’m not going to waste my time with someone that doesn’t get in the box,” Ray said. “I don’t have the time of day.”

Ray also said that he found it “curious” that the Orioles rarely swing at his slider, but stopped short of going into any further details. Hyde said following the game that he could have reacted differently and used different language, saying he was “embarrassed” that it was picked up by the broadcast, while Montoyo wanted to steer clear of it all together.

“All I know is that my guy kept his composure, stayed focused and did the job,” Montoyo said. “That’s why we stayed in the game. That’s all I’ll say about that.”

The Blue Jays eventually scraped their way back into the game, but Baltimore delivered the big blow in the seventh with a three-run shot off the bat of Anthony Santander. Right-hander Julian Merryweather was making his first appearance since hitting the IL in April with an oblique strain, and while he showed elite potential five months ago, it was a tall ask after so much time off. Such is the reality of the Blue Jays’ bullpen, though, where they need hard-throwing arms like Merryweather and Nate Pearson to step up in the middle of a postseason run.

The offense had its moments from the usual suspects, with Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. recording two hits apiece, but they couldn’t cash in on their two biggest opportunities. Jake Lamb and Alejandro Kirk came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. But Lamb popped out and Kirk grounded out. Just like the Blue Jays’ winning streak, there was bound to be a night where it didn’t click.

Nobody expected an outcome like this with the Blue Jays playing their best baseball behind their best pitcher, but it’s a reality check of how delicate these postseason races can be on any given night. With a doubleheader waiting on Saturday, the Blue Jays have a chance to pull even with the Yankees regardless of whether New York wins and gain further ground on Boston in what’s shaping up to be a must-watch stretch run.