The Sports Corner

Nine-game losing skid for the Jays

Eleven days ago, the Toronto Blue Jays were on a roll, 13 games above .500, 3.5 games up on the second-place Boston Red Sox and coming off a four-game sweep on the Chicago White Sox.

But that all changed when they arrived at Fenway Park on Tuesday, May 19 for the start of a nine-game road trip through Boston, Atlanta and Baltimore.

My question is: Where did the Jays offence go between the homestand in Toronto and the start of the road trip in Boston?

The Jays lost 2-1, 8-3 and 5-1 to the Red Sox in three games, cutting their division lead down to half a game.

After that disappointing series with the Sox, the slumping Jays went into Atlanta hoping to find their bats again, but ended up finding three more losses, 1-0, 4-3, 10-2, a six-game losing skid and third place in the AL East.

Dragging their heels, Toronto came into Baltimore looking to end, what had been a disastrous road trip so far, on a good note.

The first two games of the series, the Jays scored first, but couldn’t hold a lead to save their lives, losing 4-1 and 7-2.

But the third game, something seemed to have turned around. The realization of possibly losing nine straight games, their entire road trip, hit the Jays over the head and their bats came back.

WIth Roy Halladay on the mound and a five-run lead, it seemed that the Blue Birds had finally come back to their pre-road trip form.

Thinking that the game was under control, Halladay was pulled from the game after seven innings and allowing only 3 runs. That’s when the trouble started. The O’s scored 5 runs in the 8th, tying the game at eight and ultimately forcing the game into extra innings.

Aaron Hill gave the Blue Jays some hope in the top of the 11th, hitting a two-run home run over the left-centre field fence, putting the Jays up 10-8.

But the Orioles dashed those hopes in the bottom of the inning, scoring four, including a three-run walk off potato hit by Rookie Nolan Reimold, and winning the game 12-10.

The Blue Jays, who had been so good during their homestand against the Yankees and White Sox, had whatever spark that was lit in Toronto extinguished on the lengthy road trip. They eventually found their bats on the last day, but it was too little, too late.

I think the lineup needs to be shaken up for a little while. For example, Alex Rios and Vernon Wells are struggling lately so they should be moved down to the fifth and sixth positions and Adam Lind and Scott Rolen, who have been hot lately,  move up to third and fourth.

That switch might get the Jays moving on an offence stand point. Yes, they scored 10 runs on Tuesday night, but who knows if the Jays have actually broken out of their collective slump? A change of scene may take the pressure off of certain players, like Rios and Wells, and get them going again.

If I were Rios or Wells, I’d love to have some time out of the spotlight while I worked out the kinks in my swing and got back into the form everyone is expecting from an every day player such as myself.

Here’s to hoping the Jays have worked out whatever problems they encountered offensively on their time away from Rogers Centre and they pick up the pace for the start of their nine-game homestand on Friday against the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox. Time for some payback, boys!