Series against Royals capped off with multiple management miscues

While the Kansas City Royals are no slouch (yet), the Toronto Blue Jays should not have had any issues escaping K.C. with, at the very least, a series victory. While there is still another game to be played, the offense has failed to wake up and management once again played their own team straight into the ground.

Wednesday evening's contest was the biggest and most painful example of this.

Addison Barger should not have played left field in his big league debut. Of that, there is no doubt, and this was a major blunder by John Schneider and his fellow Blue Jays decision makers. Barger, 24, was hailed to the big league roster to replace an injured Kevin Kiermaier. It remains to be seen who thought it'd be a good idea to start him in a position he's never played in the first game of his big league career.

Blue Jays managerial miscues cost them a game, series victory

Naturally, it didn't go well for Barger in left field. But that cannot be put on his shoulders. Rather, the negativity or criticism for the move should be aimed directly at the Blue Jays. Nerves are already at an all-time high for someone in Barger's shoes but I mean, really, what did you expect to happen?

Barger's misplay in the bottom of the second inning essentially lost the game for the Blue Jays by keeping the inning alive. If he caught that ball, Yariel Rodriguez would've successfully gotten out of the inning unscathed. Instead, Kyle Isbel came around to score and that run is ultimately what caused the Jays to lose.

The whole "start Barger in left field" thing was not the only blunder made by Schneider, though. In the sixth inning, with left-hander Angel Zerpa on the mound, Daniel Vogelbach was sent to the plate. Vogelbach is well known for his power and ability to hit a baseball to the next state over ... but not against left-handed pitching. Last year, he had just 15 at-bats against southpaws, which should tell you all you need to know about how he fares in the same-handed matchups.

The Blue Jays had Davis Schneider, Alejandro Kirk and Justin Turner, their best hitter, available off of the bench to pinch-hit if needed. Instead, the club went with Vogelbach, who struck out in one of the more embarrassing three-pitch sequences you'll see from a professional baseball player. He was completely overmatched in a situation that someone like Schneider or Turner would've thrived in.

Making boneheaded moves like this is what will cause the Blue Jays' downfall this year if they're continuously allowed to happen. John Schneider has not necessarily lost his fans yet, but he's definitely not doing himself any favors. We'll see how Thursday's series finale goes against the Royals.