Blue Jays offence musters just two hits in loss to Astros

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It is not the easiest time to be a Blue Jays starting pitcher — even when you’re pitching well. In fact, it hasn’t been comfortable for quite some time now.

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When runs are at such a premium for the faltering team’s offence, the pressure ramps up exponentially.

Deep in the heart of Texas on Tuesday night, the latest victim was Chris Bassitt, whose biggest crime in a three-run Astros first inning was allowing two infield hits, a fluky flare to left field and a fourth that bounded off second base.

The bad baseball luck helped the Astros to a three-run first and as we’ve seen far too often this season, that was it. A 3-0 deficit after one? Ball game, basically.

The meek Toronto offence managed a home run from Nathan Lukes in the third, but that was barely a blip as the Jays managed just two hits off of Astros starter Ronel Blanco.

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As a result, the Jays were rolled by the Astros for the second night in a row, losing 5-1.  The hapless Jays have been outscored 12-1 in a pair of non-competitive contests at Daikin Park and have managed just four hits combined going 4-for-58.

The latest fail tumbled the Jays back to a .500 record (12-12) while extending their losing streak to a season-long four games.

The blight with the bats knows no end, it seems, as unsightly trips to the plate pile up and frustration among the hitters, coaches and starting pitchers builds.

The lack off offence also adds to the pressure on dudes like Bassitt, who entered the contest with a 0.77 ERA, the second lowest in the majors. Veterans like Bassitt and Kevin Gausman (who pitched four shutout innings to start Monday’s game) would never call their teammates out, but with such little offensive support, the Jays need near-perfect pitching just to have a chance.

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During the four consecutive losses, the Jays have managed just eight combined runs. The two hits that comprised the offence on Tuesday came from the eighth and ninth hitters in the lineup: The Lukes homer and an Ernie Clement single.

The Jays have now lost back-to-back series and will look to avoid a sweep in Houston when Bowden Francis takes the mound on Wednesday.

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After an off-day Thursday, it’s off to New York for a weekend series against the Yankees for a Jays team that is now 4-7 on the road. They’ve also got a worse record after 24 games than the 2024 version (13-11) that finished in last in the AL East.

There have been excuses at the ready for those who insist on going glass half-full, but that’s a reach. On Monday, Astros starter Hunter Brown was basically unhittable and rotten luck conspired against Bassitt on Tuesday. But that’s baseball and with next to no run support, excuses are for the team on the wrong end of the boxscore.

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More gloom, anyone? Vlad Guerrero Jr. has just one home run this season — and that’s it in his past 33 games dating to last season. Bo Bichette is still looking for his first of 2025 and the other top-of-the-order bat, Anthony Santander, has a pair but was kept out of the lineup on Tuesday to either rest or regroup from the miserable at-bats he’s been having of late.

Credit to Lukes for his second career bomb, a brief sign of life, but that was just the Jays’ 13th round tripper of the season, second lowest in the majors.

The Jays are going to need more — much more — and they’re going to need it soon. Sure, Daulton Varsho is nearing a return, but even with his potential for power, the lights-out centre-fielder can’t be relied upon to single-handedly fix this mess.

The longer this goes, the more strain gets piled on the pitching staff — both starters and relievers, who are already starting to crack in spots. The strain is real and runs deep and with an offence showing no signs of breaking out, it’s hard to imagine when it might end.

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