Inside The Blue Jays

5 Takeaways From Blue Jays' Never-Say-Die Loss to White Sox

Marcus Semien hit two homers, it rained at Rogers Centre, and the Blue Jays fought hard in the 10-7 loss.

Ethan Diamandas

© Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

TORONTO — Teoscar Hernández tapped the ball back to the mound, as a collective groan sounded out from the Rogers Centre crowd.

The fans had been through so much already and, after the Blue Jays rallied to make things close, Toronto fell quickly against White Sox closer Craig Kimbrel in the bottom of the ninth.

It was an anti-climactic conclusion to one of the club's more eventful games of the season, especially since the Blue Jays offense put forth its most valiant offensive effort of the seven-game homestand.

Here are five takeaways from the Blue Jays 10-7 loss in Thursday's series finale versus Chicago. 

Blue Jays explode for five runs in sixth, fight to make things close

With the game looking out of reach at 9-2, the Blue Jays attacked White Sox reliever Michael Kopech for five runs in the sixth inning. 

The crushing blow came on a two-run home run off the bat of Blue Jays second baseman Marcus Semien, who launched his second bomb of the game into the left field seats.

Ultimately it wasn't enough, but the Blue Jays had to fight for both wins of the series split against the White Sox. Manager Charlie Montoyo hopes the team can build off that determination. 

"I'm hoping that this game gives us momentum going forward," Montoyo said. "This is the best offensive game we had in a while and it was good to see that we came back to make it a game."

Semien has a monster day

Semien's sixth inning bomb gave the Blue Jays a chance to win, but the second baseman got things started in the very first inning. 

Semien's been relatively immune to the team's offensive struggles this month—he came into the game with a .809 OPS in August— and he provided the spark Toronto needed to make things close. The 30-year-old turned in his third multi-homer game of the season and finished 3-for-5 on the day. 

"That's how it starts," Montoyo said. "Somebody gets hot. Hopefully Marcus gets hot and Vladdy starts swinging the bat. Like I always say, it's contagious. So hopefully that's the beginning of the whole lineup getting hot."

Ryu gets shellacked, bad month continues

Following a great outing against the Tigers, Ryu fell back into some old pitfalls, as his troublesome month of August continued.

Ryu lasted only 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits, while walking one and striking out four. The Korean lefty's season has been marked by good stretches (ERAs of 2.60, 2.64, 2.73 in April, May, and July, respectively) and bad ones (a 4.88 ERA in both June and August, before Thursday). 

Three home runs, including back-to-back jacks in the third, were his undoing. Ryu said his command failed him.

"Even one of the home runs I gave up felt like it was a weak contact," Ryu said. "But, compared to the last outing that I had, with all my pitches, I think the command was the key."

Apart from José Berríos' dud on Tuesday, the Blue Jays' rotation kept Toronto in games throughout the homestand. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, Ryu didn't have have his best stuff during a game where the offense was especially potent.

Dome closes late, rain pours into Rogers Centre

In the fourth inning, it began to rain in Toronto. The Rogers Centre roof closed a bit late and the playing surface got soaked. 

After Toronto put one run on the board in the fifth, Sox starter Carlos Rodón asked for something to be done about the rain-soaked mound. The game was eventually delayed for a few minutes while the grounds crew raked the mound and the dome inched its way closed.

Springer close to returning from IL

On the bright side, Blue Jays center fielder George Springer ran the bases hours before Thursday's game. Springer's been out since, a Grade 1 knee sprain sent him to the 10-day injured list on August 15, but ramped things up by sprinting home-to-first and first-to-third in pre-game drills.

"What he did today was a pretty good test," Montoyo said. "He did run close to 100%, I would say. He looked pretty fast, he looked comfortable and he felt good."

It's been a gradual build-up for Springer, who started the week by jogging in the outfield. He's now running the bases and hitting batting practice, but the team is waiting for the 31-year-old to give the final 'Okay.'

"Even more, a guy like Springer who's been around, he knows how he is," Montoyo said. "So if he tells me he's good to go, that's all I need to hear."

There's no set timeline for Springer's activation, though a return at some point during the team's upcoming weekend series in Detroit is on the table.

Published
Ethan Diamandas
ETHAN DIAMANDAS

Ethan Diamandas is a contributing writer who covers the Toronto Blue Jays for Sports Illustrated. He also writes for Yahoo Sports Canada and MLB.com. Follow Ethan on Twitter @EthanDiamandas

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