Blue Jays squander Kevin Gausman gem in extra-innings loss to Phillies

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In his most recent outing, Kevin Gausman used the word unacceptable in providing a scathing self-analysis of his beatdown in Beantown when eight earned runs would be yielded.

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Suffice to say the lithesome righty more than atoned for his poor performance against the Red Sox.

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Gausman pitched six scoreless innings Wednesday and threw 99 pitches in one of his most dominant outings of the season.

In a game short on runs, it was a long ball produced by Brandon Belt that looked like it would stand as the winning margin as the Blue Jays were poised to leave the City of Brotherly Love with a 1-0 win.

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Along comes the home half of the ninth when Jordan Romano failed to deliver the save as the hometown Philadelphia Phillies came back to tie the game and then saw the potential game-winning run get tagged out at the plate.

The game required extra innings.

Toronto failed to score in the 10th, paving the way for the Phillies to complete their late-game comeback and two-game sweep following a 2-1 win.

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It was the most unlikely of endings when a throwing error by Bo Bichette led to the winning run when a double play should have been recorded.

Gausman struck out the side in the fifth to run his overall K streak to five in a row.

Through five innings, Gausman struck out eight in an elite pitching performance.

In the sixth inning, Gausman rang up his ninth hitter, but he also gave up a two-out double, prompting pitching coach Pete Walker to make a mound visit.

Up stepped Bryce Harper, who hit a first-pitch hopper to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

It was the final hitter Gausman faced.

Zack Wheeler was no slouch as the series finale turned into one of those old-fashioned pitchers’ duel at Citizens Bank Park.

Wheeler pitched one more inning than Gausman, but he also gave up one more run.

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In the highly competitive and extremely deep AL East, the Jays will now begin a key stretch.

Fortunately, they’ll be home following two protracted stretches of being away from their comfy confines.

If you recall, Toronto began its season on the road as the Rogers Centre renos were being ironed out, a 10-game period that saw the Blue Jays go 6-4.

The most recent sojourn began in Boston and ended in Pennsylvania, a nine-game stretch that began with the stench of being swept by the BoSox.

No team has played more road games than the Blue Jays (25), who will nonetheless be home for the next 10 beginning Friday when Atlanta comes to town for a weekend series.

Thursday is an off day for the Blue Jays, who will also play host to AL East rivals the New York Yankees and the emerging Baltimore Orioles, a team that appears to be legitimate.

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BO SHOW

Bichette was back in the leadoff role with George Springer dealing with a viral infection.

When it comes to aggressive approaches at the plate, Bichette has few peers in baseball.

At the rate Bichette has been swinging the bat, there aren’t many better in the game.

And yet, there was Bichette taking a called strike on Wheeler’s first pitch of the game.

Even more surprising was Bichette taking a second strike.

Behind in the count, Bichette was forced into a defensive mode.

He went with the pitch and stroked a ball to the right side of the infield where first baseman Alec Bohm made a nice fielding play to ignite a 3-1 putout.

ATTENTION!

Being attentive to the game’s details has been a major theme from the time the Jays first gathered in Dunedin.

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For the most part, they’ve been pretty solid in making sure every detail was executed.

It eluded the Jays in Boston and it resurfaced in the series opener in Philadelphia.

While Wheeler recognized the need to get to the bag, Gausman seemed to take it for granted that Vlad Jr. would make the play in the home half of the first.

What played out was a grounder by Harper to the right side and Gausman failing to make himself available for the throw at first base.

It should have been a routine out, setting in motion a first inning that forced Gausman to throw 23 pitches.

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VARSHO STOPPER

More than a few eyebrows were raised when Daulton Varsho was pinch hit Tuesday in the seventh inning when the game’s outcome was very much in doubt.

Varsho had been wielding a hot bat.

The Jays went with the matchup and decided to take the bat out of Varsho’s hands and allow Springer, who has been scuffling, take his swings in a critical spot.

Springer struck out.

Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20.

Varsho was in the No. 3 slot Wednesday.

He hit a soft pop up to third for the inning-ending out in Toronto’s first at-bats, a sign of things to come as Varsho struggled at the plate.

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BIG WHEELER

Wheeler was dealing and didn’t allow the Jays to record their first hit until Vlad Jr. led off the fourth inning with a double to left field that fell just inside the line.

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He was left stranded.

In Tuesday’s 8-4 loss, the Blue Jays went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Prior to Vlad Jr.’s hit, Toronto’s only baserunner was Belt, who drew a two-out walk in the second.

Belt delivered the game’s big blow when he went deep for a leadoff homer in the fifth.

For Belt, it was his second long ball of the season and first since April 21 when Belt went deep at Yankee Stadium.

During the Jays’ nine-game trip, Belt appeared in six and recorded seven hits.

Belt struck out in his final two at-bats Wednesday, including the final out in the ninth.

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