TORONTO -- A first-inning miscue that saw a catchable ball drop in shallow right field was a sign of how the series finale against the Blue Jays would go on Thursday afternoon.
With Toronto already up by one run in the bottom of the first, Addison Barger lifted a high fly ball at a 62-degree launch angle. Houston right fielder Jesús Sánchez and shortstop Jeremy Peña both ran into shallow right field, but the ball dropped between them, scoring Nathan Lukes from third and allowing Barger to reach second.
The Blue Jays plated three runs over the first two innings off starter Cristian Javier and never looked back en route to handing the Astros a 6-0 loss at Rogers Centre.
With the loss, the Astros (79-68) are now tied with the Mariners, who notched a walk-off win over the Angels, atop the American League West.
Javier went on to give his team six innings, allowing four runs on six hits and one walk to go with six strikeouts. Sánchez took accountability for the misplay, which manager Joe Espada called a big play in the game.
“In that situation, I was watching the fly ball. I was looking at the second baseman. I thought I needed that play,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “I was conscious the infield was playing in and I was playing deep, but that’s not an excuse.”
It wasn’t the Astros’ only issue on the afternoon.
Houston’s offense was largely lifeless against Toronto starter Kevin Gausman, who logged a two-hit shutout on exactly 100 pitches. The Astros' best chance to score was in the fourth inning, when they were set up with runners on first and third with one out. But the opportunity was squandered by a weak popout in foul territory by Jose Altuve and a strikeout by Sánchez.
Espada emphasized the importance of stringing together strong offensive performances, something his team has struggled to do recently.
“We need to find more consistency in our at-bats game-to-game,” Espada said. “We saw some really good at-bats yesterday, the day before I thought we were grinding some at-bats and getting people on base. And then it’s just becoming really hard for us to do it three or four games in a row. We need more of our offense to contribute."
Despite the frustration with the offense, Espada was complimentary of the job Gausman did and the way he attacked hitters.
“He’s tough because he’s got a good fastball, he changes speeds and he throws a ton of strikes,” the skipper said. “You can’t try to cover the whole entire plate, because if you do, it’s going to be a really short day like the one we saw today.”
In a game where bright spots were hard to come by, Javier’s ability to settle in from a tough start to his outing was one.
The start was just Javier’s sixth since returning from Tommy John surgery on Aug. 11. He’s now 1-3 with a 4.78 ERA over 26 1/3 innings.
“I feel very good,” Javier said through an interpreter. “I stayed positive, attacked the zone and tried to get us the outs as quickly as possible. Baseball is a game of adjustments.”