Bowden Francis not the answer again as Twins prey on walk-happy Jays pitching

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A series was won, but a sweep denied as the Blue Jays left the Land of 10,000 Lakes on Sunday with their collective heads well above water, at least for the time being.

At the same time, the margin for error remains thin for a team with a troubling lack of rotation depth and one that can’t realistically count on the late-inning comeback.

That was underlined in the finale of a weekend series against the host Minnesota Twins, a 6-3 setback, in which starter Bowden Francis didn’t make it out of the fourth inning and Toronto pitchers yielded eight walks through five.

The following are three takeaways from a game that saw the Jays take a 3-2 lead in the third inning, but not produce another hit until the ninth.

1. Bowden bounced

An argument could be made that Sunday’s start was the biggest of the season for Francis, who was lifted in the second inning of his previous outing when the visiting Phillies lit up the beleaguered right-hander.

Against the Twins, for the second start in a row, Francis yielded a leadoff walk. An additional free pass would ensue, but he survived the first by recording two strikeouts.
In the second, the Twins loaded the bases on him, twice, but this time came away with a pair of runs.

He ran into more trouble in the third, with runners at first and second and two out, but was bailed out by catcher Alejandro Kirk who gunned a throw to first base to catch Ty France diving back to the bag, for the third out.

The fourth inning proved Bowden’s undoing. After keeping Twins batters in the park through the first three innings, and his team in front 3-2, Bowden’s Achilles heel resurfaced when he gave up back-to-back home runs to Brooks Lee and Christian Vazquez — the Nos. 8 and 9 batters in the lineup — to lead it off. Bowden has now served up 19 home runs, most in the majors.

One batter later — a great defensive play at third base by Addison Barger — Bowden was gone, having given up four earned runs in 3.1 innings on five hits and five walks. The most disturbing stat, however was throwing just 47 of his 89 pitches for strikes. It was painful to watch.

Given the team’s lack of a fifth starter and the state of an overused bullpen, Francis needed to be much better on Sunday. Sadly, however, he is not a major leaguer at this moment.

2. Roden chips in

Making just his second start since being recalled in the wake of Daulton Varsho’s hamstring injury, Alan Roden showed patience at the plate in his first at-bat, sending a line drive double into centre in the second inning that would cash in Ernie Clement from first with game’s opening run. It would be Roden’s lone contribution in a 1-for-4 afternoon.

How Roden fits into the daily lineup is anyone’s guess. Varsho’s absence has paved the way for the team’s ancillary outfielders to get playing time in what is essentially a committee approach.

Jonatan Clase started the two opening games at Target Field, but he went 0-for-8 at the plate, with four strikeouts. Inserting Roden into the lineup was a no-brainer.

3. No lyin’ about Ryan

In right-hander Joe Ryan, the Jays were facing a veteran who entered the afternoon having won his previous five decisions.

He looked awfully good to begin his latest outing by striking out four of the first five hitters he faced.

Ryan went at the Jays’ hitters with an aggressive approach, though they did pounce on some early mistakes, which included an RBI double by George Springer in the third as the Jays regained the lead. After that, Ryan retired seven of the final eight Jays he faced, erasing a walk to Barger with an inning-ending double-play groundout by Kirk in the fifth.

Up next

The Jays head to the Show Me State for a three-game set against the host St. Louis Cardinals that begins Monday night (7:45 p.m. first pitch). The Cards boast one of the top home records in the National League at 22-11 … Jose Berrios is Toronto’s scheduled starter in the opener. The righty has pitched six complete innings in each of his past four starts and has surrendered a combined one run in his two most recent outings.