DETROIT — It’s been a confounding season for the Blue Jays, and perhaps no two-day sample sums it up better. On Friday night, the Blue Jays scored 12 runs on 14 hits against the Tigers in a 12-2 win. On Saturday afternoon, they were no-hit in a frustrating 2-0 loss.
Tigers starter Matt Manning and relievers Jason Foley and Alex Lange combined to keep the Blue Jays hitless through nine innings. Toronto’s lineup was missing George Springer after the right-fielder was placed on the paternity list before the game but otherwise featured the majority of its regular starters, including Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Matt Chapman.
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But the lineup didn’t have an answer against the Tigers, especially Manning, who fooled the Blue Jays with his three-pitch mix. In the standings, this one goes down as a loss like any other, but Blue Jays designated hitter Brandon Belt said it does sting more to not collect a single hit, especially as the Blue Jays aim to finish the first half on a high.
“Getting no-hit, it’s a little embarrassing for sure, but we get hits to win the ballgame, we don’t get hits to not get no-hit,” said Belt. “It’s just one of those days, the hits weren’t falling for us. Their pitchers were doing really well and their pitchers were better than our hitters today. That’s how baseball goes sometimes, but we’re looking to go out there and win the series tomorrow and just forget about it.”
This was the seventh time in franchise history the Blue Jays have been no-hit, but the first time that they’ve suffered that fate via a combined effort. Justin Verlander, then with the Astros, pitched the last no-hitter against the Blue Jays on Sept. 1, 2019.
After the game, Blue Jays manager John Schneider admitted it is frustrating to get blanked — especially a day after scoring in double digits — but gave due credit to the Tigers pitchers. The Blue Jays hit a few balls hard that found gloves, while the Tigers also made a few sharp defensive plays, which is typically a feature of any no-hitter.
The ninth no-hitter in franchise history! pic.twitter.com/pmYNvUME5N
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) July 8, 2023
“You tip your cap to good pitching,” Schneider said. “We hit some balls hard early, Javy (Báez) made a great play on Bo’s ball (in the sixth), (which) I thought was going to fall. And you move on. I think that these pitchers at the big-league level are good, and today just wasn’t our day, but there’ll be another game tomorrow.”
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The game, delayed by an hour and 22 minutes by inclement weather, started under weird and wet conditions as a brief yet steady rain began just as play got underway. Manning looked as though he was having trouble gripping the ball early on and began the outing by hitting Bichette with a pitch before walking Belt. But Guerrero hit into a fielder’s choice that may have been a double play under dry conditions before Manning came back to retire the next two batters he faced.
From there he cruised, at one point retiring 16 straight Blue Jays. Belt said that he thought Manning improved as the game went on.
“His fastball was real lively,” Belt said. “He started hitting the corners a lot more. He was tough today. There’s no doubt about it, and they brought in two really good pitchers after that.”
After Manning walked right fielder Cavan Biggio in the seventh with two outs, boos rained down from the crowd when Tigers manager A.J. Hinch took Manning out of the game after throwing 91 pitches. He finished with three walks, five strikeouts and a hit batter. Foley came into the game and got Whit Merrifield to fly out.
In the ninth, Lange had to face the top of the Blue Jays’ lineup to preserve the no-no. He struck out Bichette on three pitches. Belt showed bunt early in his at-bat, but the pitch was outside. Asked afterward if that was a decoy or not, Belt said, “Absolutely not.”
“We’re trying to win a ballgame. It’s a two-run game. If it’s a six- or seven-run game that’s a little bit different, but a two-run game, we need base runners. I was honestly shocked that they played back that far. But I was absolutely going to bunt right there if he put it over the plate,” said Belt, who ended up flying out to centre field.
With one out to spare, Guerrero hit a groundball to third base and tried to leg it out, but Tigers third baseman Zach McKinstry made a strong defensive play to complete history. Immediately as the game ended, the Tigers bolted out of their dugout and onto the field for a worthy celebration in what’s so far been another familiar losing season in Detroit.
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The Blue Jays, meanwhile, saw another strong effort from Kevin Gausman go to waste. The only two runs Gausman allowed came in the first inning when conditions remained misty and his command wasn’t as sharp as usual. He regrouped, however, and went on to finish six innings, striking out seven while allowing five hits and two walks.
That the Blue Jays couldn’t muster any offence behind him follows a year-long theme where the right-hander has been pitching with the smallest of margins. Per Sportsnet Stats, his 3.03 run-support average is the second lowest in the majors.
“He was solid as he always is,” Schneider said of Gausman’s performance. “First inning, a little weird. Just some balls in the middle of the zone. Not ideal conditions for either pitcher in the first inning there and we kind of knew we were going to play through it. After that, I thought he settled in, kind of typical Kev and kind of cruised right along.”
As tough as it is to be on the wrong side of history against a losing club, the Blue Jays tried to maintain perspective. Frustrating? Yes. Embarrassing? Sure. But baseball can be a weird sport sometimes, where a team can score 12 runs one day and not muster a hit the next.
“It’s just one of those things that happens, won’t be the last time it happens to any team,” Schneider said. “You try to end the first half with a series win tomorrow.”
Still, this no-hitter coming less than 24 hours after their offence looked as though it was at its best is perhaps a fitting snapshot of why the first half of this Blue Jays season has been so perplexing and underwhelming. Toronto’s offence has been above-average (107 wRC+) and ranks in the top 10, while generating hits hasn’t been an issue, either. They’re top five in hits, and this was the first time they were held to fewer than three hits in a game this season. But plating runs consistently has been an issue, they haven’t threatened with the long ball as much as in previous seasons, and up and down their lineup there are players who look capable of more offensively. While the offence has probably been the most underwhelming facet of their game, based on expectations, this team has rarely looked as though all aspects are clicking at the same time.
“We’re in a wild-card spot, but I feel like everyone on this team, and including the staff, would probably say we haven’t played very well in all facets of the game,” Gausman said. “Making all those click at the right time, hopefully, we can do that in the second half. But at this point, we definitely haven’t played our best baseball, and so it’s good to know that we’re in a spot right now where we feel like we’re good, but we definitely know that we’re capable of a lot more.”
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After flushing this one, the Blue Jays’ offence will try to generate more — much more — on Sunday and go into the All-Star break on a better note.
“You never want to get no-hit, but our goal is to win as many games as possible,” Belt said. “That doesn’t change whether we get no-hit or not. So tomorrow’s going to be the same thing. We’re looking to go out there and win the baseball game.”
(Photo of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: Rick Osentoski / USA Today)