Toronto Blue Jays non-existent in loss to Nationals

By Keegan Matheson | Jun 2, 2015

The Toronto Blue Jays dropped the opening half of their double-header 2-0 to the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. Starting pitcher R.A. Dickey bounced back from his recent struggles with a quality outing, but the bats were no match for Jordan Zimmerman who spun an eight-inning shutout while scattering six hits.

In a game that passed by at light speed in a mostly-empty stadium, the Toronto Blue Jays failed to string any of their offensive bursts together, creating a performance that was frankly void of inspiration. The two teams will get right back to it tonight in Washington as the Jays seek redemption, sending Marco Estrada to the mound to face Max Scherzer.

Final. 2. 90. 0. 39

Game Notes:

Jose Bautista

made his return to the outfield after dealing with a shoulder injury and was tested early. With two runners on in the first, Bautista tracked a deep liner from

Ryan Zimmerman

, leaning against the wall to save an extra-base hit. He looked comfortable enough fielding, but his ability to throw with velocity from the outfield to home plate is still highly questionable.

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Washington opened the scoring in the bottom of the fifth, beginning with a 3-2 single from pitcher Jordan Zimmerman. With Zimmerman on third and a runner on second, the Blue Jays chose to pitch to Bryce Harper instead of intentionally walking him, which resulted in an RBI single. Ryan Zimmerman would then score Yunel Escobar in with a sac fly.

John Gibbons rolled the dice later in the game with runners on second and third, one out and Ryan Goins coming to the plate. Edwin Encarnacion was brought on to pinch-hit and quickly given an “unintentional” walk before Russell Martin ended the inning by grounding in to a double play. This wasn’t the best use of Toronto’s two best bench bats, but hindsight is 20/20.

<b>R.A. Dickey</b>. STARTING PITCHING . B+. It’s difficult to complain about the outing from Dickey as he gave the Jays every opportunity to get involved. Through 6.0 innings pitched, Dickey allowed eight hits while striking out six and walking just one. After a rockey start that saw his first two pitches go for hard-hit singles, Dickey settled down and found his knuckleball. If Dickey can continue to offer Toronto starts like this, he’ll win more than he loses.. Game Ball

HITTING . F. Yes, you read that right. Josh Thole led the way offensively with two hits in four appearances making him the only Blue Jay to reach base more than once. With a demotion likely coming any moment to make room for Dioner Navarro, Thole ended this tour of duty on a high note.. Game Ball. <b>Josh Thole</b>

B+. Bo Schultz was the only reliever the Blue Jays needed, and he didn’t disappoint. Schultz went 2.0 innings strong while allowing one hit and one walk. Working his fastball in the neighbourhood of 96 MPH, Schultz will get a fair look as the bullpen continues to exhaust all options in search of a shutdown right-hander to go along with Roberto Osuna.. Game Ball. <b>Bo Schultz</b>. BULLPEN

MVJ: Jose Reyes

Why not! If you’ve listened to Toronto sports talk radio at all over the past two days, you’d be amazed that any MLB team featuring Jose Reyes could come within twelve runs of an opponent, let alone two. Reyes played poorly, but with much of the roster doing the same around him, the cries for his demotion to single-A were limited to a dull roar.

Next: Blue Jays prospect watch: Roemon Fields

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