The Toronto Blue Jays’ momentum came to a screeching halt on Saturday as they were routed 11-0 by the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. One night after securing their second straight victory, Toronto was outplayed in every phase, managing just one hit while falling to 42-47 on the season.
The defeat leaves the Blue Jays third in the American League East, now 12 games behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays, with more ground to make up in the wild card race.
After a scoreless first inning, Seattle scored five runs in the second and never looked back. It was a difficult afternoon for Shane Bieber, who struggled in his third start since returning to the mound. The former Cy Young winner surrendered seven earned runs over four innings, including two home runs.
© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Toronto’s offense offered little support. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez, Kazuma Okamoto and Nathan Lukes were all held hitless against Logan Gilbert and the Mariners’ pitching staff, while Yohendrick Piñango recorded the club’s lone hit.
After the game, manager John Schneider described the loss as “a good old-fashioned (expletive)-kicking on the Fourth of July.”
He also took some time to congratulate the Canada Men’s National Team for their FIFA World Cup run after it was eliminated by Morocco on Saturday.
“Congrats to the Canadian World Cup team and coach Marsh … they had a good run and it was fun to watch them. So from the Canadian team to the Canadian team, congrats to the soccer team” (h/t Shi Davidi of Sportsnet).
Toronto will now try to shake off Saturday’s defeat when it closes out the three-game series against Seattle on Sunday.
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The Blue Jays will then travel to begin a new road series against the San Francisco Giants on Monday as they hope to secure crucial wins and head into the All-Star break on a much better note.
