Blue Jays lose to Mariners 6-1in extra innings

Toronto relievers Jordan Romano and Erik Swanson had bags packed by their locker-room stalls at Rogers Centre on Wednesday ahead of a trip to Buffalo to continue building up for a return from the injured list.

The sooner they get back from their Triple-A assignments, the better it’ll be for a Toronto bullpen that has missed them.

Relievers Tim Mayza and Mitch White had rough outings for the Blue Jays as Seattle scored five times in the 10th inning for a 6-1 victory to avoid a three-game sweep.

With Mitch Garver aboard as the automatic runner, Cal Raleigh took Mayza’s first pitch over the wall to give the Mariners the lead. White gave up three more runs later in the frame as Seattle won for the second time in eight games.

Mayza’s velocity has been down a tick in the early going but manager John Schneider had limited options with Romano and Swanson still rehabilitating and acting closer Chad Green unavailable.

“I don’t think we’ve put him in the best spots really because we’ve been a little bit short,” Schneider said. “But yeah, it was a tough outing for Tim.”

Yusei Kikuchi delivered a solid 89-pitch start for Toronto before giving way to Nate Pearson in the seventh inning. Yimi Garcia was dominant over his two-inning appearance but Mayza couldn’t keep things going.

“I think it’s just his stuff isn’t quite there really,” Schneider said. “There’s more sliders I think because of it. The sinker is his best pitch.”

Green, who pitched in the first two games of the series, has been filling in late in games while Romano is out. Swanson also normally throws in high-leverage situations.

Both Romano (elbow), from Markham, Ont., and Swanson (forearm) were scheduled to pitch for the Bisons on Thursday. When they’re eventually cleared for activation, Schneider will be able to transition his relievers back into their regular roles.

Toronto nearly won the game in the ninth inning but a stellar defensive play by second baseman Jorge Polanco sent the game to extra innings. Ernie Clement floated a ball into shallow right field but Polanco made a nice running catch to keep the game tied.

White gave up an RBI double to Ty France and a two-run single to Mitch Haniger. Ryne Stanek recorded the final three outs for Seattle.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered for the Blue Jays (6-7). Both teams had six hits on the afternoon.

Seattle (5-8) scratched out a run in the third inning off Kikuchi for its first lead of the series. Dylan Moore walked, stole second and came home on a J.P. Crawford flare to right field.

Kikuchi allowed one earned run, two walks and three hits. The left-hander had nine strikeouts.

Seattle starter Logan Gilbert retired seven Blue Jays in a row before Guerrero launched a no-doubt blast in the seventh inning that just missed the scoreboard at the base of the 300 level above the Toronto bullpen.

His third homer of the year had an exit velocity of 114.3 m.p.h. and travelled an estimated 459 feet.

Daulton Varsho reached on a two-out single in the eighth and George Springer walked to end Gilbert’s afternoon. Right-hander Andres Munoz (1-1) came on and got Guerrero to fly out before surviving a nervous ninth.

Gilbert allowed one earned run, five hits and a walk. He had eight strikeouts.

“What an awesome outing by Logan Gilbert today,” said Mariners manager Scott Servais. “That was exactly what we needed. I know it’s early in the season but it’s really big for our club.”

Announced attendance was 22,960 and the game took two hours 40 minutes to play.

Pre-game deal

Before the game, the Blue Jays announced that right-hander Wes Parsons had been traded to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for international signing bonus pool space.

Parsons started once for Toronto last season and made two relief appearances this year.

Coming up

Both the Blue Jays and Mariners have off-days on Thursday.

The Blue Jays will kick off a three-game series on Friday against the Colorado Rockies. The nine-game homestand will wrap up with a three-game series against the New York Yankees next week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2024.