Jays’ Aaron Sanchez loses 11th straight decision on another wild night - Toronto Star

Nothing seems to be coming easy for Aaron Sanchez these days.

Even on a night when Sanchez limited the Baltimore Orioles to a pair of runs, he laboured from start to finish. He threw 23 pitches in the first, 30 more in the second and had reached 100 by the end of the fifth. It was a grind that ended in a 4-1 Blue Jays loss Friday night.

Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo had the bullpen warming up in the second and third innings as Sanchez initially appeared to be in for a short night. The good news for Toronto is that he appeared to get stronger as the game went on. The downside is that he did not pitch nearly as well as the final score might suggest.

Sanchez, understandably, focused on the positives after the latest loss. The two earned runs were the fewest he has allowed in any start since May and his velocity was up, with a maximum of 96 mph on his fastball and an average of 94 throughout the course of the game.

“Tonight, is probably the best first time I felt like myself in two-and-a-half years,” said Sanchez, whose 56 walks this season lead all MLB pitchers. “If I continue to throw the ball the way I did tonight, I think a lot of good things are going to happen in the second half.”

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Sanchez scattered three hits, but he also frequently fell behind in the count and issued four walks over five innings. He was saddled with an 11th consecutive loss, which trails only Ricky Romero’s 13 straight defeats in 2012 as the longest skid in franchise history. The California native is more than two months removed from his last win, which occurred on April 27 vs. Oakland.

The latest loss came as the Blue Jays’ bats finally cooled off. Toronto entered play on Friday having scored at least six runs in eight consecutive games, which was the second longest streak in franchise history. It was a much different story against Baltimore, except for a seventh-inning homer by Brandon Drury.

Baltimore right-hander Dylan Bundy allowed one run, three hits and a pair of walks while striking out six. Toronto finished 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, with five men left on base. Drury, who also walked, was the only Blue Jays player to reach base more than once.

“We didn’t expect that today, not that Bundy’s a bad pitcher,” Montoyo said. “We faced some pretty good pitching like Boston and we were swinging the bats good. But (Bundy’s) changeup was good. He kept us off balance and he threw strikes.”

• No show for Stro: Right-hander Marcus Stroman has been shut down until at least the all-star break because of what the club described as a “cramp” in his left pectoral muscle. Stroman left an outing against Kansas City on June 29 after four innings and hasn’t been back since.

The 28-year-old is not scheduled to pitch this weekend and he is also expected to be held out of next week’s all-star game in Cleveland. If Stroman is deemed unavailable for the midsummer classic, closer Ken Giles likely would become the favourite to replace him on the American League roster.

• The daily move: Outfielder Jonathan Davis was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Friday afternoon while left-hander Thomas Pannone was optioned to make room on the 25-man roster. Davis received the promotion after it was revealed that Lourdes Gurriel Jr. would be held out of the lineup with a sore wrist.

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Gurriel sustained the injury while making a diving catch in left field during Thursday’s series finale versus Boston. Toronto also was without the services of Randal Grichuk, who has missed the last two games because of a sore back.

• Up next: Left-hander Clayton Richard (1-4, 6.51) will take the mound against Baltimore on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 3:07 p.m. The Orioles are set to counter with veteran right-hander Andrew Cashner (8-3, 4.03).

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca

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July 06, 2019 at 09:13AM