TORONTO -- At least this time the weather held.

The Blue Jays got a longer look at Cole Ragans on Tuesday evening, five days after his first matchup against José Berríos was cut short by a thunderstorm in Kansas City. The results were eerily similar, though.

Toronto’s offense struggled again, squandering Berríos’ seven innings of two-run ball in a 4-1 loss to the Royals at Rogers Centre. It was another grueling matchup against a surprisingly pesky opponent.

“That’s a tough matchup for anyone,” manager John Schneider said of Kansas City and Ragans. “He's really good. I thought that, as it went, we did a better job of kind of grinding out some ABs, but it's a fight, man.”

The parallels didn’t end at Ragans’ dominance.

Berríos added one more strong outing to a brilliant month of April, settling in after allowing a two-run homer in the first inning just like he did in his start in Kansas City. The closed roof ensured not even a drizzle would interrupt his flow, and the right-hander continued his run of efficiency.

He limited the Royals’ lineup to just those two runs in the first, striking out three with five hits and one walk on 92 pitches to bring his ERA to 1.44. He still had more left in the tank after five innings and 67 pitches at Kauffman Stadium last Thursday, especially since Toronto trailed by one run when the game was called.

Maybe there was some extra motivation there.

“I [got the loss] last time against them, so I came tonight and tried to do my best,” said Berríos. “I knew we were going to have perfect weather because of the roof, so we didn’t [worry] about that. We just came in with a plan, and I felt pretty good.”

The plan involved pitching to contact, which has worked well for Berríos with a strong defense behind him. That allowed him to rely on his movement-heavy sinker for quick outs and key double plays to keep the game close and give the Blue Jays’ hitters a chance to figure out Ragans.

But five days weren’t enough for the offense to come up with answers, and they didn’t appear mid-game either. The Blue Jays managed only four hits -- all singles -- in Tuesday’s loss, which dipped them back below .500 with a 15-16 record.

• Pitching depth to be tested with Rodríguez sidelined

That’s far from the end of the world -- or the contention window -- as the calendar flips to May. The long baseball season has a way of separating good teams from great ones and the road ahead isn’t getting any easier, but the Blue Jays have some reasoning behind preaching patience, especially as key players such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette start seeing more positive results at the plate.

Still, those good results will need to translate to wins sooner rather than later.

“[The standings] could look a lot different,” Schneider said on Sunday. “Guys are playing well, we’re pitching well and we’ve definitely left some wins on the table, too.”

Add this one to the list of wins left on the table.

The Blue Jays had a clear window for a better narrative and a series win over the Royals.

Trailing by 2-1 in the seventh following an RBI single by Bichette the inning prior, the Blue Jays worked back-to-back two-out walks before Ragans exited with a cramp in his left calf. That right there was their best chance to turn momentum around and ensure their best starter didn’t end his month with an ill-deserved loss.

Cavan Biggio then swung on a 2-2 fastball outside from reliever John Schreiber for a groundout that ended the inning. Erik Swanson allowed two more runs in the following half and the comeback was gone.

“We came up one swing short there,” said Schneider.

What’s the mentality going into May?

“Baseball changes so quick,” said Schneider. “It ebbs and flows and it changes quick. Today [we faced] a really tough pitcher, so hopefully May is a little different … and it’s a quick turnaround. But I mean, we're confident it's going to [get better], no matter if it's tomorrow or in Washington.”