CINCINNATI — With Jeff Hoffman and Seranthony Dominguez believed to be unavailable Monday, the Blue Jays knew they’d have to get creative if a save situation arose.
Thanks to Bo Bichette’s go-ahead, two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning, the Blue Jays had a chance to do just that. Bichette’s home run — his fourth hit of the day — gave the Blue Jays a lead that was as exhilarating as it was short-lived.
Yet when Tommy Nance and Brendon Little came on to attempt to save the game, they instead combined to allow three runs. Noelvi Marte’s two-run, walk-off single against Little assured the Reds of a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays on yet another frustrating day for the bullpen.
With the loss, the Blue Jays fall to 79-59 on the season. Jose Berrios is slated to take the ball Tuesday.
Bassitt pitched well, recovering from some early lapses in command to cover six-plus innings while walking two, striking out six and allowing two earned runs. On a day the Blue Jays were short-handed in the bullpen, the extended outing by Bassitt helped keep the game close into the late innings.
But as well as Bassitt pitched, Greene was even better, allowing just one run while striking out seven and sitting 99.5 m.p.h. with his fastball.
Offensively, Bichette was the only Blue Jays hitter who seemed comfortable against Greene, as he pushed his MLB-leading hit tally to 176. But while Bichette collected four knocks, the rest of the lineup managed just four more, leading to a quiet day at the plate.
Before the game, the Blue Jays reshuffled their rotation again while promoting two players to take advantage of newly expanded rosters for September. By adjusting their starting rotation plans, the Blue Jays assured themselves of a Shane Bieber start here at Great American Ballpark Wednesday instead of at Yankee Stadium on Friday.
While manager John Schneider acknowledged it’s “very enticing to line him up against New York,” he cautioned that the Blue Jays don’t want to look too far ahead and must prioritize wins against the Reds first. With that in mind, Bieber starts in Cincinnati this week, Eric Lauer moves back to the bullpen and Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt line up to start against the Yankees.
Now that they’re back to a five-man rotation, the Blue Jays’ best pitchers will pitch more often, providing a slight edge at a time that the Yankees and Red Sox are making the AL East race all too interesting.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays also added right-handed reliever Dillon Tate and utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the roster. Tate provides depth out of the bullpen, while Kiner-Falefa can play all over — anywhere from second, third and shortstop to the outfield and even catcher, where he last played at the MLB level in 2019.
Given the depth down the stretch of a baseball season, Tate and Kiner-Falefa will likely have chances to contribute. As long as stars like Bichette are doing their thing, the Blue Jays will have a far better chance of staying atop the AL East. Improved work from the bullpen will be required too, though.
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