Blue Jays limited to three hits, lose again to dominant Dodgers

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The Blue Jays might want to apologize to the millions of baseball fans in Japan for making them watch Toronto this weekend.

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With Shohei Ohtani and his star-laden Los Angeles Dodgers in town, and with Yusei Kikuchi on the hill for the Jays on Saturday, even more eyeballs than usual are on baseball in that country and elsewhere. And so far, the Jays have put on a putrid display.

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A day after getting embarrassed 12-2, Toronto eked out only three hits and fell 4-2, losing for the fifth game in a row to stay below .500.

Ohtani didn’t homer again, as he had to kick off the series, but he did knock in a run with a loud single in the second inning with the Dodgers already up 2-0.

Strangely, former Tampa Bay Rays ace turned Dodger Tyler Glasnow came in winless in his career against Toronto (0-4, five no-decisions), but was in complete control in this one, giving up just two hits, a run and three walks, while striking out nine in six innings before exiting due to cramps. The Los Angeles bullpen mopped up from there, allowing an unearned run in the ninth as the Dodgers improved to 18-11.

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Much earlier, another Dodgers superstar, Mookie Betts, had led off with a triple that a diving Daulton Varsho could not come up with. That brought Ohtani up to a chorus of boos. Ohtani lined out to second base, where Cavan Biggio made a nice play. But Canadian Freddie Freeman drove Betts home with a sacrifice fly off Kikuchi.

Kikuchi, who attended the same high school as Ohtani in Japan before the phenom got there, was in the midst of a fine season (2-1, 2.28 ERA heading in), but didn’t get the results he wanted in this one, despite having extra heat on his fastball and a good curveball. Kikuchi gave up four runs and nine hits in six innings, striking out a season-low three batters, though one of them was Ohtani, with Kikuchi making the slugger look far more confused than usual by having him swinging wildly on a curveball. Later Kikuchi lamented the effectiveness of his slider and said he should have thrown more curves, but was happy at having his best velocity of the season. Both Kikuchi and Blue Jays manager John Schneider credited the Los Angeles lineup for showing its class again. “Top to bottom very talented lineup, but I think I could have done better with my slider today,” Kikuchi said through an interpreter. “It’s tough facing (Ohtani), especially because there was a runner on each time … he’s getting better and better every year.”

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Betts knocked in a fourth Dodgers run with a single in the fourth, but didn’t score again. Ohtani ended his day with a fly ball to the wall in left in the ninth.

Toronto’s first run came after Danny Jansen had been hit by a Glasnow pitch in the seventh. Davis Schneider followed with a double and Jansen was able to come all the way around.

That was it for the disappointing Jays until Schneider reached on a throwing error and scored on a Biggio single in the ninth.

George Springer was rested but the big guns have all been off all year. Kikuchi was asked if that puts extra pressure on him to shut down an opponent or end a losing streak and replied of course he always likes to end a skid, but believes Toronto’s veterans have been through ups and downs before and will get back on track. “We’re just in a bad stretch right now,” he said.

The manager echoed those thoughts, saying he was “confident it will turn” and reminding that Toronto had won four straight series not too long ago.

Kevin Gausman, who has yet to win this year, will try to help Toronto avoid the sweep in this set on Sunday.

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