TORONTO — Hours after Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro blamed his team's disappointing year on the bullpen, his relievers frittered away another outing.
The Blue Jays (52-62) bullpen wasted a decent five-inning performance from Bowden Francis, allowing two runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth in a 7-3 Baltimore Orioles (68-47) win before 35,547 at Rogers Centre on Wednesday.
Shapiro reasoned the bullpen has been "an Achilles for us all year" in a 17-minute session with reporters earlier in the afternoon.
On Wednesday night, Ryan Burr (0-1) surrendered a monster 424-foot two-run blast to right field from Jackson Holliday in the seventh to give the Orioles a 4-3 advantage.
Anthony Santander hit his second homer of the game in the eighth off Ryan Yarbrough to begin another bountiful inning for the visitors.
Santander had belted a two-run long ball, his Major League-leading 24th homer since the beginning of June, in the first inning off Francis with lead-off hitter Colton Cowser already on base.
Francis then settled down, completing five innings and giving up just three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts.
"He made a mistake with a curveball to Santander, but he pitched well," Toronto manager John Schneider said.
"It's a tough lineup to navigate, but I thought he did a really, really good job. After the first inning there, he was about as good as we could have asked for."
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his hit streak to 19 games with a single in the first inning, but he also made two errors at third base.
Guerrero also smashed one to the right-field wall in the seventh that was snared by Santander.
Orioles starter Trevor Rogers also lasted five innings in his second start since being acquired from the Miami Marlins before the July 30 trade deadline. He surrendered three runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases with three singles from Ernie Clement, Guerrero and Alejandro Kirk in the first.
Clement scored on a sacrifice fly from Spencer Horwitz.
Toronto snatched a 3-2 lead in the second on a run-scoring single from Brian Serven and a throwing error from Orioles third baseman Coby Mayo.
Baltimore reliever Burch Smith (3-0) pitched a clean sixth to earn the win.
SHAPIRO SPEAKS
In his first media availability since Mar. 21, Shapiro called his ninth season at the Blue Jays' helm "by far the biggest disconnect from our expectations and biggest disappointment."
Toronto will fail to make a fourth playoff appearance in five years after being swept 2-0 in the 2020, 2022 and 2023 American League Wild Card Series.
But Shapiro hinted general manager Ross Atkins will receive a chance to rebuild the Blue Jays into a contender in the off-season.
"I very rarely am unequivocal about anything," Shapiro said. "Commenting on job status during the season is not something I've done or will do.
"That being said, contextually, I'm a big believer in continuity and stability and think those are competitive advantages. The focus of my conversations with Ross is what can we learn about how we put the team together."
Shapiro talked to reporters in front of the Blue Jays dugout, eight days after the trade deadline and during the Paris Olympics.
Shapiro refused to reveal if contract extensions were on the horizon for Guerrero and Bo Bichette. They are under contract until the end of 2025.
"It's certainly easier to build a sustainable, championship team with talent like that in place for extended periods," he said.
ON DECK
Kevin Gausman (9-8) will start for the Blue Jays in the series finale against the Orioles on Thursday. Baltimore will counter with righty Dean Kremer (4-8).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2024.
Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press