Along the way, Gausman hit 100 mph with a drive off his right ankle, Casey Lawrence pitched 5.2 emergency innings on short rest and Thomas Hatch coughed up 10 runs in a botched start in the spot. If there was a common theme in Saturday’s doubleheader losses, it was the lack of pitching depth behind the Blue Jays’ back five. In the opening game of the day, Wander Franco hit a fan by Gausman’s ankle, leading to a scary moment at the Rogers Centre. While catcher Gabriel Moreno tried to end the game, Gausman went down hard and the rest of the Blue Jays held their breath. [brightcove videoID=6308979643112 playerID=JCdte3tMv height=360 width=640] Fortunately, the x-rays came back negative and the official diagnosis was a sprained right ankle. At this point, the Blue Jays are unsure if Gausman will be able to take his next turn, which is scheduled for Thursday in Seattle with plans to continue evaluating him in the coming days. “You feel for a guy like that,” said Lawrence, who replaced Gausman after a brief warmup for the Blue Jays. “You don’t want anyone to fall into those situations. At the same time, you know you have to be ready to go out there and play. Still thinking about it, hope all goes well. But then you have a job to do: get the big league players out.” The 34-year-old Lawrence made plenty of that Saturday afternoon, giving the Blue Jays 5.2 innings of relief over 87 pitches, just four days after throwing 99 pitches at triple-A on Tuesday. “It’s a great job by Lawrence,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. “He deserves a lot of credit.” “It’s part of the job description,” Lawrence noted. “I left it all out there.” But Shane McClanahan was absolutely dominant for the Rays, limiting the Blue Jays to just one run on three hits while striking out 10 in one of his best pitching performances against Toronto all year. Aside from a leadoff RBI single by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Blue Jays managed very little in front of a crowd of 39,426. “I don’t usually talk about the other guys, but he was really good,” Montoyo said. “It keeps you off balance. He steps like a guy who throws 90 or 91, but he doesn’t. Drops 97. It’s tough. He is a good pitcher. Definitely one of the best pitchers in baseball.” [brightcove videoID=6309007165112 playerID=JCdte3tMv height=360 width=640] The Blue Jays lost the first game 6-2 and things only got worse once Hatch started playing. Recalled from triple-A Buffalo because of the doubleheader, Hatch allowed 10 runs on 12 hits, including three home runs. While his track record shows he’s capable of more, the 24,180 in attendance saw a pitcher who looked completely out of sorts en route to an 11-5 loss. The Blue Jays managed a little more offense in the second game, including home runs by Guerrero Jr. and Bradley Zimmer, but it wasn’t enough to offset the damage Hatch allowed. Combined with the scary moment with Gausman earlier, the day highlighted the vulnerability of this starting rotation. If Gausman or someone else has to miss a turn, Lawrence, Hatch and Max Castillo represent the next level of depth for the Blue Jays. After Saturday, the Blue Jays will likely prefer to avoid Hatch, who will likely be optioned before Sunday’s game. And as necessary as Lawrence’s innings were, he still allowed six runs. That leaves Castillo, a four-game big league rookie whose last minor league start came a month ago. Bullpen game, anyone? That’s not an appealing idea, but as the Gausman fan reminded us, the unexpected happens often in baseball. Simply put, the Blue Jays are ill-equipped to handle any more hitters in their rotation. Changing that should be a priority along with bolstering a bullpen that would benefit immensely from another closer-caliber arm. In recent weeks, the Blue Jays have been eyeing the trade market for relief, and those efforts are sure to intensify as the Aug. 2 trade deadline approaches. Of course, big-name players haven’t yet been traded for recovery projects that are easier to come by than strike weapons right now. [brightcove videoID=6308992846112 playerID=JCdte3tMv height=360 width=640] Along those lines, the Blue Jays announced the acquisition of Anthony Banda during the doubleheader. A 28-year-old lefty, Banda was recently designated for assignment by the Pirates after posting a 6.41 ERA in 23 relief appearances with Pittsburgh. Despite an ugly ERA, he strikes out four times as many batters as he walks thanks to a 95 mph fastball and a changeup he uses liberally. Montoyo was absent from the Blue Jays dugout for most of the second game while manager John Schneider took over as acting manager and first base coach Mark Budzinski was replaced by catcher Luis Hurtado. Afterward, the Blue Jays said Budzinski was dealing with a personal matter and asked fans and the media to respect his privacy. Ultimately, the Blue Jays will need more pitching help. They didn’t need to allow 17 runs to the Rays to figure that much, but this one-sided field day certainly drove that point home.
