{"id":117492,"date":"2025-08-04T06:12:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T06:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/117492\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T06:12:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T06:12:14","slug":"blue-jays-in-search-of-top-form-amid-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/117492\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays in search of top form amid struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2013 Chris Bassitt is not about to reach for the panic button despite the recent play of the Toronto Blue Jays.<\/p>\n

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The Blue Jays wasted a solid six-inning effort from Bassitt with their sixth loss in eight games, a 7-4 defeat in 10 innings to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. Toronto (65-48) still leads the American League East by three games over the Boston Red Sox, an advantage built by a 49-28 record since May 8, the best run by an AL team during that stretch.<\/p>\n

Bassitt believes his club has suffered a letdown after emerging from the all-star break by winning two of three from the rival New York Yankees and three of four from the Detroit Tigers, who at the time had Major League Baseball\u2019s best record.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I thought we just laid an egg in Baltimore, where we ran into a super-hot Baltimore offence, and we just weren\u2019t ready for it,\u201d said Bassitt of the Orioles winning three times in the four-game series.<\/p>\n

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The Royals arrived in Toronto having won seven of their last 10. The rubber-match win on Sunday, before 41,461 at Rogers Centre, meant the Blue Jays dropped back-to-back series for the first time since mid-May.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just take your licks,\u201d Bassitt said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to happen through the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just getting back to who we are as a team, good pitching from the starters to the bullpen and just grind out at-bats.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was also the trade deadline on Thursday. It yielded the Blue Jays three new pitchers and first baseman Ty France.<\/p>\n

France did not play in the series finale against the Royals. But the three pitchers performed on Sunday to mixed reviews.<\/p>\n

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Reliever Louis Varland gave up the tying run in the eighth inning, and Seranthony Dominguez was hammered for five more in the 10th.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in his first rehab start for triple-A Buffalo, Shane Bieber was encouraging. He tossed 62 pitches in five innings, surrendering two runs, including a homer, on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.<\/p>\n

Toronto manager John Schneider would like to keep Bieber with five days of rest between starts, but his next outing will not be set in stone until the Blue Jays staff sees how he feels after this latest start.<\/p>\n

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