The Blue Jays possess one of Major League Baseball’s more effective bullpens and the only way that trend will continue is if that group starts getting some help from the offence.
Jeff Hoffman, Yimi Garcia and Brendon Little have been lights out for most of the year, but a late-inning collapse against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night served as a cold reminder they won’t always be perfect.
The more often a pitcher throws, the less likely he is to be effective. When arms fatigue, the velocity drops, the command suffers and the possibility of an injury increases. The Jays are starting to experience that firsthand and, once again, the blame falls squarely on the hitters.
Entering Wednesday, the Jays had won just three games by more than three runs and the last occurred on April 8 at Fenway Park. All 16 of their victories have required at least one of the big three. The lack of run support means the top guys rarely get to take time off.
Little was tied for second in the American League with 18 appearances. Garcia was 12th with 16, and Hoffman was right on his heels at 15. Set-up man Chad Green has been worked as hard as anyone with 17. Despite manager John Schneider’s best efforts, the current usage rate isn’t sustainable without a drop in performance, or worse yet, a health scare.
The cracks in the foundation were evident during Tuesday’s series opener in Anaheim. The Jays were clinging to a one-run lead in the eighth inningÌý— as they had far too many times this seasonÌý— and it resulted in a second consecutive poor appearance by Garcia.
Two full days removed from a 32-pitch outing that saw him blow a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Guardians, Garcia was called upon again. This time he began his outing with a nine-pitch walk to Zach Neto. An error by Ernie Clement was then followed by a single off the bat of Taylor Ward.
Hoffman entered, and for the first time this season, he got hit around. Logan O’Hoppe greeted the Jays closer with a single before Yoan Moncada followed with a three-run homer. Jo Adell soon added a solo shot of his own and just like that, what should have been a close win turned into a blowout loss.
Fatigue likely wasn’t a big of a factor for Hoffman, who had pitched twice in the past week, but the same theory doesn’t necessarily apply to Garcia. He has been asked to throw 68 pitches this month alone, and it shows. Against the Angels, the Ìý
What the bullpen needs more than anything is for the offence to give it a break. An occasional blowout where the Jays run up the score early. The kind of win where you can use relievers such as Mason Fluharty, Yariel Rodriguez and Dillon Tate without thinking about getting one of the high-leverage arms ready.
There just haven’t been many nights like that this season. The Jays entered Wednesday averaging just 3.51 runs per game, which was a significant decrease from last year’s 4.14. Only four teams had scored less and no team had hit fewer home runs.
The Jays bullpen ranks a manageable 11th in the majors with 132 2/3 innings. No Jays pitcher sits inside the top 20. It’s not so much the number of pitches the top guys are required to throw, it’s how often they’re used. That’s not Schneider’s fault either, it’s a by-product of tight ballgames.
This concern isn’t new. Last year, Garcia was worked similarly hard early in the season and by mid-June he was on the injured list with a right elbow injury. Garcia missed a month and then returned for a week before he was traded to the Seattle Mariners. Several weeks later, he was back on the IL.
Hoffman is still relatively new to the team, but his predecessor Jordan Romano knows what he’s going through. There were multiple columns in this space over the past several years that outlined how a lack of runs resulted in his overuse. That workload finally caught up to him last season when he was limited to 15 games because an elbow problem.
The effectiveness of the Jays’ bullpen will inevitably go down the more it gets used. Until Saturday, Garcia hadn’t even allowed an earned run across 14 innings and he’s now allowed seven over his past two appearances. Entering this week, Hoffman had surrendered one home run all year. On Tuesday, he served up two.
The relievers who recently struggled are the same ones who have been carrying the Jays for most of the season. It’s long past time for the offence to share that burden with some heavy lifting of its own.
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