Gausman struggles as Blue Jays stumble in loss to Mariners

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One knew the Blue Jays were in for a long night based on the way starting pitcher Kevin Gausman began his night.

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Gausman has been the man, but on this night he was a man under extreme duress.

For the first time in a Toronto uniform, Gausman gave up a home run.

He entered the night without surrendering a long ball in 53 straight innings dating back to last season, the longest active streak among all starters.

It all evaporated when Seattle’s No. 9 hitter, Cal Raleigh, took Gausman deep in the fifth inning.

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Despite the 2-1 disadvantage, the Jays appeared to be in deep trouble.

As fate would have it, they were as a sweep of the Mariners would prove elusive as Seattle left town with a well-earned 5-1 win.

This could easily be summed up as was one of those nights when the Jays’ offence and pitching were equally bad against a Seattle team that swung the bats well and received solid pitching from starter Marco Gonzales, who walked in a run.

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Meanwhile, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of the Blue Jays was forced to leave the game with a hamstring issue.

At least Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his hit streak to a career-best 15 games, one of the very few bright spots to emerge in the loss.

There was no energy with the roof closed at Rogers Centre, no hint the home side would mount any real challenge, no chance to pull off the three-game sweep.

Toronto goes into Thursday’s off day knowing it did win a series following four straight series losses.

Right from the start, Seattle seemed to have Gausman’s number following a succession of hits that landed the righty on the ropes.

It could have been much worse given the carnage at the plate, which would see the Mariners produce five hits through two innings.

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And yet only one run was scored.

An inning-ending double play helped mitigate the damage.

In the home half of the third, the Jays began to find their stroke, an inning that began with back-to-back singles.

With runners at the corner and two outs, Bo Bichette stepped up to the plate and drew a walk to load the bases.

The crowd then roared in anticipation as Vlad Jr. made his way to the batter’s box.

Gonzales would issue a walk to Vlad Jr. as the Jays got on the scoreboard.

Teoscar Hernandez ended the inning on a groundout.

He would get picked off at second with one out in the sixth.

ROMANO UPDATE

The status of closer Jordan Romano was broached by GM Ross Atkins in the hours leading up to Wednesday’s opening pitch.

According to Atkins, Romano is dealing with a gastrointestinal infection, but the GM does not envision Toronto’s closer moving to the injured list.

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In other words, he’s day to day.

Romano’s most recent appearance came Saturday in Tampa against the host Rays.

He has recorded 12 saves for the Blue Jays.

VOTTO IN THE 6IX

Joey Votto returned to his baseball roots in Dayton, Ohio as part of his rehab assignment.

He’ll be back to his family roots Friday when Cincinnati comes to town for a three-game weekend series.

The future hall of famer is a Toronto native who attended Richview Collegiate.

Votto was a teenager when he suited up for the Dayton Dragons, Cincinnati’s class-A affiliate.

What followed was a career worthy of enshrinement.

More recently, Votto was placed on the COVID-19 injured list on May 3.

Coincidentally, he’ll make his return to the bigs in Toronto.

“I will likely be there Friday,” he said on a Zoom call Wednesday. “Nothing comes to mind that would keep me from being there Friday. I feel well. I’ve been competing well. I played seven innings yesterday (Tuesday). I’m ready to play.”

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Did acknowledge he spent more than a week dealing with the effects of COVID.

Votto, 38, would have continued his rehab assignment if he wasn’t in a position to return.

“The timing just worked out,” added Votto, who also contracted the virus last year in spring training. “If I wasn’t ready, if I ended up taking this time off, five or six days later, I would have missed the series.

“I just want to come back and perform well. I’ve performed so poorly this season, it’s not something I’m comfortable with or used to. Coming back from being on the couch or in bed for eight, nine days, I need to make sure that I’m in a good way physically or else I risk injury,or I risk poor performance. I have to come back and perform well.”

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Prior to his stint on the injured list, Votto appeared in 22 games for the Reds, hitting .122 with one extra-base hit.

Votto has been messaging his mom and knows there will be plenty of family and friends in attendance Friday.

“I have great memories of the city and certainly of the Jays,’’ said the first baseman.

A fractured thumb forced Votto to miss the month of May in 2021.

Once he returned from the injury, he went on a tear.

“It’s a six-month season,’’ he continued. “Whether I perform well the day I come back or as the season moves along, I have a responsibility to play well every single day.

“That’s what my focus has been on, that’s what my target is.”

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