Blue Jays lose 13-0, and surrender a 500 Level home run

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A sellout crowd in excess of 40,000 was hoping for much more, even knowing not much more can possibly be summoned from such a flawed Blue Jays roster.

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While the threat of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. going deep in any at-bat remains appealing for the paying public, at the very least the Blue Jays must show some level of competitiveness.

When Vlad Jr. doesn’t go yard, there aren’t many reasons to be in attendance at Rogers Centre because fans, simply put, will not get their money’s worth.

What fans received Thursday in the Blue Jays’ rubber match against the Tampa Bay Rays was a big goose egg as the Jays were thoroughly embarrassed in a 13-0 shellacking, the team’s most lopsided loss of the season.

Chris Bassitt settled in following a tough start to his outing, while Trevor Richards, a pending free agent whose market value is quickly eroding, put together his second straight wretched appearance.

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Unless fans came to watch Taj Bradley turn into a Cy Young Award finalist, there was absolutely nothing to take home following a second straight series loss at home after the Jays reconvened from baseball’s all-star break.

The Jays have not won a home series since they faced Cleveland in mid-June.

With the clock ticking on the July 30 trade deadline, the only untouchable is Vlad Jr.

Any and all should be made available. The problem is so very few players are appealing for any potential suitor.

The announced crowd of 41,148 was eerily silent throughout most of the day, which is to be expected when the Jays gave their faithful nothing to cheer as the Rays posted a season-high run total. Following a five-run seventh inning, in which Tampa Bay took a 12-0 lead, there were cheers once the inning’s final out was recorded.

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Ernie Clement, who started the day at third base, was used in a mop-up pitching role in the ninth inning. He gave up one run on two hits.

TAJ MAHAL

Bradley, the Rays’ electric right-hander, entered the game with a 4-0 record in his previous seven starts. During that stretch of 44 innings, he recorded an ERA of 0.82, with 51 strikeouts and only 16 bases on balls, while holding opponents to a .170 batting average.

The kid has been unquestionably good having thrown seven shutout innings in each of his past two starts.

Against the Jays, he was sublime, throwing six shutout innings.

Bradley gave up back-to-back hits with one out to Spencer Horwitz and Vlad Jr. in the first inning before he retired 17 of the next 18 hitters.

In his past nine starts, Bradley has an eye-popping 0.82 ERA.

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WOW! LOWE!

Fans of a certain vintage may recall Jose Canseco’s moon shot deep into left field when the slugger and future Blue Jay was a member of the formidable Bash Brothers of the Oakland Athletics.

It was Game 5 of the ALCS on Oct. 7, 1989 when Canseco faced Mike Flanagan.

Even Jays fans were left in awe after Canseco’s homer landed in the fifth deck, 480 feet from home plate.

In the ensuing years, others would follow Canseco’s ground-breaking belt.

Almost out of nowhere, Brandon Lowe turned on Bassitt’s full-count change-up in the first inning and sent it very high into right field. The ball appeared to be hooking foul, but landed in fair territory and into the 500 level.

The previous time a home run landed in the 500 level was on April 12, 2019 — also hit by Lowe.

Statcast measured his latest blast at 414 feet, which does not seem extraordinary until one realizes where it landed knowing so few hitters have gone there before.

For the record, Lowe’s first-inning belt was his 12th of the season. He also went yard on Tuesday in the series opener.

Lowe reached base in all six of his plate appearances with the home run, two doubles, a single, and two bases on balls.

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IKF UPDATE

Isiah Kiner-Falefa appears to be ahead of schedule in his return from a knee injury he suffered while warming up before a game earlier this month.

Admittedly, IKF felt he dodged a major bullet, as he feared it was a season-ending injury. His year had been going well.

IKF might be able to return to action at some point between the middle of August or later in the month.

At manager John Schneider’s pre-game availability Thursday, he said that IKF is poised to begin a minor-league rehab assignment, perhaps as early as Saturday, based on how well the versatile infielder continues to progress.

Kiner-Falefa has been able to resume working out recently with signs pointing to a return sooner than later, barring a setback.

Once he gets cleared, it’s expected IKF will start at shortstop to fill the void left by Bo Bichette’s absence due to a calf injury.

In the absence of both Bichette and IKF, the Jays have gone with Leo Jimenez at shortstop.

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