Blue Jays bullpen implodes as closer Jeff Hoffman booed off the field in ugly loss to Twins

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What do Blue Jays fans see when they pack the Rogers Centre with regularity?

On most nights, they see a team with the best home record in baseball.

On Tuesday night, however, the sellout throng of 42,235 witnessed a car crash of a collapse by the Blue Jays bullpen in one of the most disheartening defeats of the season for the first-place team.

The big damage came off the right-hand offerings of closer Jeff Hoffman, who gave up a pair of home runs to the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning, allowing four runs for his seventh blown save of the season.

Stunned silence at the dome quickly morphed into boos of Hoffman, both after he allowed his second homer of the four-run Twins killing of an inning and again when manager John Schneider removed him from a game in which the Jays would lose, 7-5.

“Just pitches in the middle of the plate, really,” Schneider said of Hoffman, who has had a rough August with three saves and three blown saves. “It was one of those nights for Jeff. Both homers were right in the middle of the zone.”

The first of those came just two pitches into the inning and was the first career home run for Twins rookie, Mickey Gasper. Whether that rattled Hoffman or not, with two out and two men on, he was rocked again, this time by Matt Wallner, who hit a pair of homers off the Jays the night before. Just like that, the Jays trailed for the first time of the night.

It was a shocking loss for a Jays team, that saw it’s AL East lead reduced to four games after the Red Sox blanked the Orioles, 5-0. They had been cruising along with a 4-0 lead after five innings, thanks in large part to the latest tour de force from George Springer. A pair of home runs by the 35-year-old veteran gave him a team-high 24 on the season and had the dome in a frenzy.

Not for long enough, it turned out.

The struggles of the Jays bullpen, a festering issue for a number of weeks now, may have hit its zenith on what sure felt like a terrible Tuesday.

While Hoffman was the flashpoint — and for good reason — Louis Varland and Brendon Little didn’t help matters earlier in the contest as the latter was bailed out by some exceptional defence.

Reading too much into one blown outing — as spectacular and painful as it was — may be seen as harsh, but there’s no disputing that the Jays have to find a way to shore up their bullpen if they are to be any sort of threat come post-season.

To his credit, Schneider isn’t about to run from the obvious as the troubles and inconsistencies have lingered and were on full display on Tuesday.

“A couple of (Jays relievers) are going through it a little bit,” Schneider said. “We’ve asked a lot of these guys. You have to deal with it and move on. This group has been so good about turning the page and moving to tomorrow.”

For Hoffman, who perhaps unfairly had to face the harsh rebuke from an 18th consecutive sellout crowd, the inconsistencies are now a bonafide concern. As well as the seven blown saves — only one reliever in the big leagues has allowed more — Hoffman has surrendered 12 home runs, kryptonite for any closer.

As has been his way (and as he should), Schneider is standing by Hoffman, not that he has much choice. But the manager made it clear he still believes in the first-year Jay.

“Hoffman has been so good for us,” Schneider said. “The closer’s role is scrutinized and that comes with it. But when he’s available and you want to save a game, I’m going to bring him in. He’s shown he can do it.

“The trust won’t waver with these guys. Some nights you don’t have it.”

Adding to the frustration for the Jays was that the early lead that was looking and feeling rather comfortable. Starting pitcher Chris Bassitt had begun his outing with five shutout innings, allowing just two hits through that stretch and as the roof opened mid-game, the crowd was living it up.

But when the righty allowed a two-run homer to Luke Keaschall with nobody out in the sixth, not only was the Jays’  lead cut in half, it began a stunning stretch of seven unanswered Twins runs.

Despite the unravelling, Tuesday was an outlier for the team, which prior to Tuesday was 30-9 in its previous 39 home games.

And to their credit, the Jays didn’t pack it in after the four-run ninth by the Twins, adding a run in the ninth to pull within two runs thanks to a Springer single, his fourth hit of the night, and an RBI double from Daulton Varsho to bring him home.

That brought Vlad Guerrero Jr. to the plate with two out and a man on and an opportunity to bring the Jays back to square with one swing of the bat. Instead, Guerrero just missed, flying out to right.

Some takeaways from a game in which the Jays managed 14 hits while falling to 77-56.

SPRINGER DINGERS

The sensational season of the 35-year-old Springer continues to gather momentum to the point where he’s almost assuredly headed to his most productive season with the Jays.

His first homer in the second inning was a monster 433-foot blast, a towering shot that brought the crowd to its feet. He added another in the sixth to give him a team high 24 (three more than his closest teammate, Guerrero).

Springer is now just one shy of his Blue Jays best 25 back in 2022. With a three-hit night, thanks to a first-inning single, Springer’s average at the end of the game was .301, a huge jump from last year’s .220 slide. If sustained, that would easily top the career-best .292 he hit with the Astros in 2019.

BULLPEN BLIPS

As noted, the Jays bullpen wobbles started well before Hoffman made his electric entrance and ugly exit.

In the seventh, the Twins loaded the bases with nobody out after a single and walk allowed by Varland followed by a Ryan Jeffers single surrendered by Little.

But when a Brooks Lee line drive was chased down by right fielder Addison Barger, a relay to Andres Gimenez and Bo Bichette doubled off a dozing Austin Martin at second. That held the damage to one run as the Twins inched closer to 4-3.

In the eighth, Little started by hitting Wallner with a pitch, delivery a passed ball and walked Edouard Julien. But when Wallner was gunned down trying to advance to third, the Jays had dodged a bullet.