Back-to-back losses to the Dodgers raise concerns over the Blue Jays' playoff viability

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Two games into a three-game series in which the Blue have been outscored 14-2 and the differences between them and the host Los Angeles Dodgers couldn’t be more clear.

A series loss is assured following Toronto’s 9-1 embarrassment at Chavez Ravine on Saturday night, but now the Jays must save face in the finale or face the realization that perhaps the perception of this team has been inflated, regardless of its 68-50 record and standing atop the AL East.

In Shohei Ohtani, L.A. has that elusive air carrier, baseball’s unicorn capable of turning a game on its head with one swing. Ohtani clubbed his 40th home run of the season on Saturday, a solo shot in off Chris Bassitt in the fifth inning that gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

One inning earlier, it was Max Muncy breaking open a scoreless game with a two-run shot.

One inning later, the Dodgers broke it open with six runs off Yariel Rodriguez and Seranthony Dominguez, as the Jays bullpen was exposed by a lineup both deep and skilled.

Another point to keep in mind for those taking the short view is Toronto’s lack of offence, which sorely needs George Springer back in the lineup. Running roughshod over a double-A team — a charitable description by the way, in the Colorado Rockies — may have created a false sense of accomplishment from a team that had just lost six of its previous eight games.

Add it all up and the elements that lead to playoff success have gone missing in what represented a litmus test.

Through two games, the Jays have failed miserably and fans should be justifiably concerned. Simply put, they have been overmatched while playing an underwhelming brand of baseball.

The following are three takeaways on a night the Jays struck out 14 times and recorded three hits through seven innings before Ernie Clement went deep in the eighth.

1. Pound the mound

Chris Bassitt versus Blake Snell may not have the same cache as a Max Scherzer-Clayton Kershaw matchup, but both are proven, effective veteran pitchers.

When he faced the Jays on Saturday, Snell was making just his second start since coming off the injured list following a shoulder issue, while Bassitt’s road splits have been well-documented.

Snell, a Cy Young Award winner in both leagues, began the game with three-pitch strikeouts of Davis Schneider and Clement and though his pitch count was high (90 in all), he did give the Dodgers five shutout innings and 10 strikeouts.

Bassitt’s outing began by striking out Ohtani, but the megastar would make amends with his homer in the fifth.

Bassitt was more economical than Snell and gave up only one hit through three innings, but his fortunes would quickly change. The second hit he surrendered was Muncy’s blast. The issue on this night was that each mistake Bassitt made, the Dodgers fully capitalized as his road woes continued. He lasted 4.2 innings and 68 pitches.

In the distance, for the Jays, there was Shane Bieber making his second rehab start with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons. The former Cy Young Award winner with Cleveland gave up a homer for the second game in row, but he looked sharp in his 5.2-inning outing. The plan is for Bieber to confer with the big-league club in Toronto early next week before he makes one additional rehab start.

2. One-two punch-out

The Ohtani-Betts tandem got the better of the Jays’ duo of Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in Friday night’s series opener, sort of the game-within-the-game subtext, and did so again on Saturday.

Guerrero, in the DH slot against lefty Snell, grounded out to end both the first and third innings, then hit a soft liner to end the fifth, stranding three runners in the process. He finished up with a strikeout in the eighth, right after Clement’s homer, to end his consecutive on-base streak at 24 games.

Bichette, back in the cleanup hole — though he did lead off three innings — began the second inning by striking out when he couldn’t check his swing against Snell and, like Vladdy, also wound up 0-for-4.

3. Not faultin’ Dalton

Daulton Varsho entered the night with 27 hits, but 17 going for extra bases, including 11 homers, highlighted by his three dingers in two games at Coors Field.

His three-hit game in Friday’s series opener in L.A. — two coming off lefty starter Clayton Kershaw — was his second in a row. Against a tougher southpaw on Saturday, the Jays centre-fielder went 0-for-2, striking out twice, though he did work Snell for a walk in between.

He walked again in the ninth inning.

Up next

A late pitching change for Sunday’s series finale (4:10 p.m. first pitch) will feature RHP Tyler Glasnow, and not RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, facing the Blue Jays. L.A. has gone 5-5 in Glasnow’s starts this season … Toronto will counter with LHP Eric Lauer, posting an 8-2 record since the left-hander became a starter on June 11 … Monday is an off-day.