As the Blue Jays began Monday’s game against the visiting Boston Red Sox, the music playing in the 500-level rooftop patio in right field was echoing in the rafters, audible in the press box over in deep left field.
There’s always a live band playing there but, even in this lost year in which the Jays will finish last in the American League East for the first time in a dozen seasons , it usually can’t be heard on the other side of the stadium.
On a dreary and gloomy Monday, though, the first full day of autumn, there weren’t enough people in the house to drown out the noise, not that they were given much reason to try. The biggest cheers of the night were for the returning Danny Jansen, who didn’t play.
The longtime Blue Jays catcher, traded to Boston at the deadline earlier this season, got a tribute video after the top of the first inning and emerged from the Red Sox dugout tapping his heart, waving and tipping his cap to the smallest crowd of the season.
Only 22,254 were in the house to see the Jays open their final homestand of the year with a 4-1 loss to the Red Sox, officially “clinching” last place. The only surprise may be that it took this long; the Jays moved into the cellar for good with a 7-1 loss in Cleveland more than three months ago, on June 21, right in the middle of what wound up being a season-long seven-game losing streak.
Even the burst of energy and enthusiasm brought in by the influx of young players after the trade deadline seems to have waned, as Monday’s loss was the Jays’ sixth in seven games, dropping them to a season-worst 11 games under the break-even mark at 73-84. They didn’t score a run scoring until Spencer Horwitz’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning.
In what may have been his final start of the year — it’s possible he starts in Sunday’s season finale against Miami — veteran Chris Bassitt was not sharp.
The 35-year-old reached an ignominious career-high by issuing seven walks, failed to cover first base on a second-inning ground ball that was mishandled by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and balked a runner to third base over the course of his 4 1/3 innings.
Bassitt fell to 10-14 with the loss. It’s the first time in his career that he has hit double digits in losses and his 4.16 ERA, while very Toronto-friendly, is the worst he has recorded in a season in which he has pitched more than 28 innings.
The right-hander gave way to reliever Zach Pop with runners on the corners and one out in the fifth inning, a jam that Pop wriggled out of by getting Nick Sogard to ground into a double play after he had walked Connor Wong to load the bases. At that point, the Jays still had not had a batter reach base against Boston right-hander Tanner Houck, who was operating with surgical efficiency.
Houck needed only 37 pitches to get through the first four innings and just five more to record the first two outs of the fifth as the Jays mounted very little fight. Addison Barger then drew a walk and Ernie Clement followed with a single to take care of any potential no-hit drama.
Guerrero’s chase for 200 hits — one of few reasons to pay close attention to the Jays’ final week — stalled with an 0-for-4 night, dropping his average to .324, second behind Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.‘s league-leading .334.
A batting title, which would be the Jays’ second (John Olerud hit .363 in 1993), is a long shot at best but, even with the tough night, Guerrero sits at 194 hits for the season. He’s bidding to join Vernon Wells (2003) as the only Jays with at least 200 hits, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in a season.
The one Jays standout on a punchless night was catcher Alejandro Kirk. He followed up Saturday’s triple in St. Petersburg, the first of his major-league career, by beating out a ground ball in the hole at shortstop for an infield single in the seventh.
His greatest work, though, was done behind the plate. The 25-year-old, who is throwing out runners at a better rate than he has in any other season, erased three Red Sox players on the bases Monday.
He caught Trevor Story leaning off of second base in the first inning, picked the speedy Jarren Duran off second to end the fourth and threw out Ceddanne Rafaela trying to steal second in the eighth.
And all in front of the guy who had played in front of him his entire career. Maybe the Red Sox will let Jansen play on Tuesday.
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