The Toronto Blue Jays fell 8-3 in New York Sunday, and manager John Schneider has real problems to fix.
The loss closed out a 3-3 road trip against the Rays and Yankees. Toronto now sits 1.5 games out of the final AL Wild Card spot.
Surviving got them through this stretch. That's no longer going to be enough.
The sixth inning told the whole story. Braydon Fisher inherited bases loaded and no outs, about as bad an assignment as a reliever can draw.
He came one pitch from escaping clean, then walked in the go-ahead run.
Mason Fluharty came in next and gave up a two-run single, breaking the game open. All three runs went on starter José Soriano's line.
Fisher has made 63 appearances this season, fifth-most in baseball, and Fluharty leads all of MLB with 69. Sunday's mess wasn't their fault, just their turn.
Why the offense is the real long-term problem here
Soriano settled in after allowing two runs in the second, then ran out of gas loading the bases on his 100th pitch in the sixth.
"Just some walks and deep counts, really, but I think his stuff was good," Schneider said. "It's just about being in the zone a bit more against this team."
Soriano opened the season with a 0.24 ERA over his first six Angels starts before coming to Toronto at the deadline. The ceiling is clearly there.
"I think we're in a good position right now," Soriano said. "If we keep playing good, I think we can make it."
The bigger issue sat at the plate all series. Toronto went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position Friday, 4-for-18 Saturday, and 1-for-9 Sunday.
"You've got to zone into a spot where you can drive the ball a bit more consistently," Schneider said. "I think you've just got to be a little more patient."
This isn't an April sample-size problem anymore. Toronto is a high-contact team without much power, and pitchers know it.
Without home runs to bail them out, every close game turns into a math problem on two-out singles.
That math gets a lot less forgiving in October against a No. 1 or No. 2 starter. Right now, the Blue Jays are heading home to a softer schedule with very little room left for this kind of night.
Can the Blue Jays fix their struggles with runners in scoring position before it's too late?
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