TORONTO -- When tensions are this high, feelings can flip in an instant.

Press pause at the end of the fifth inning Friday night at Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays, then up by two runs on the Yankees, had an open road to their third consecutive win, pouring concrete for the foundation of the winning streak they desperately need. Press play, though, and you’ll need to cover your eyes.

The Blue Jays allowed six runs before they recorded their next out, including home runs to Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres, and by the time their bullpen melted down again in the ninth, they’d spiraled to a 16-5 blowout loss. The daily discourse around this team still sits on the offense, as it should, but Toronto’s bullpen is getting hammered.

After allowing 12 runs (10 earned) Friday, the Blue Jays’ bullpen ranks 28th in the Majors with a 4.78 ERA and 27th in strikeout rate (7.61 K/9). That just won’t work.

“You need everyone, really, and in isolation, tonight wasn’t ideal,” manager John Schneider said. “Just rewinding it a little bit, Yusei [Kikuchi] pitched too well to have that game end where it did. I think that before the sixth inning, there were spots where we could have added on runs or played a bit cleaner. I just hate to waste an outing like that.”

Jordan Romano and Yimi García are both on the IL with elbow injuries, and while the Blue Jays hope to get one or both back before the All-Star break, that’s a best-case scenario. Erik Swanson, optioned to Triple-A Buffalo in late May, has allowed 12 runs over his past three innings there. The Blue Jays are without their three best relievers entering the season, a death blow to even a deep bullpen.

While Chad Green is holding down the back end admirably -- he might be the most underrated player on this roster right now -- it’s these middle innings that make the Blue Jays nervous. This is where a thinned bullpen shows itself.

Pearson’s ERA climbed to 5.23 Friday. Outside of Green, you’ll see a lot of ERAs in that range. Tim Mayza, one of the best lefties in baseball a year ago, allowed hits to all five batters he faced as his ERA ballooned to 8.03.

“Timmy’s been really good for a long time,” Schneider said. “He’s trying new things with a little cutter. His velocity comes and goes. In today’s game you need that, and it’s been inconsistent for him. You have to keep figuring out ways to make adjustments.”

It’s so hard to make that work in a postseason run, especially when the Blue Jays are making unforced errors to draw these margins even tighter.

There were so many small moments the Blue Jays failed to capitalize on. Even their two runs in the bottom of the fifth don’t tell an inspiring story. Toronto had the bases loaded and no outs but managed to score only on a fielder’s choice and when George Springer took a heater off his left hand.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. eventually ran into an out in that inning, bolting home on a ball that got past Yankees catcher Jose Trevino. That aggression is part of Guerrero’s game, but standing on third base with less than two outs, he needs to be certain that he’ll score. A bang-bang play is too great a risk, which he ended up on the wrong end of.

Vladdy was involved in another clunky play earlier in the game, too, when the Yankees opened their scoring.

With runners on first and second and one out in the fourth, second baseman Spencer Horwitz fielded a ground ball by J.D. Davis, but Aaron Judge stopped in the basepath between first and second and lured Horwitz toward him. Horwitz fired to Guerrero to retire Davis, but while Guerrero tried to chase down Judge for the second out, Juan Soto -- the forgotten runner at second -- scampered home and drew a late throw from Guerrero.

It’s up to Horwitz to get rid of the ball more quickly there and Vladdy to be more decisive, but these are the small plays that tilt games and seasons.

It’s because of moments like these that Guerrero’s fifth home run in seven games isn’t a bigger story. Even as Guerrero watched it sail over the wall in right-center, then turned and fired his bat in the air back toward the dugout, the moment was dulled by the fact that the Blue Jays were still down. What could have been a “moment” won’t be remembered as one.

Given how it went, maybe it’s best not remembering anything at all that happened after the fifth inning.