The Toronto Blue Jays' struggles continued Monday in a 7-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, and ace Dylan Cease believes it's time for the players to take responsibility for the poor play.
"It's on us. It's not the coaches. It's not anybody else. We're just not playing up to our potential right now," Cease said postgame, according to Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. "So, it's frustrating, but we have each other's backs. We're going to keep fighting."
Monday's loss - Toronto's fifth in its last six games - dropped the reigning AL champions to eight games below .500. The Blue Jays now sit 5.5 games out of the final AL wild-card spot.
It was another sloppy effort from the Blue Jays, who've been outscored 22-6 in four games since the All-Star break. The bats had eight hits, all singles, and committed three errors that led to a pair of unearned runs for Tampa Bay. Cease, the AL strikeout leader, notched seven Ks but also allowed two homers for just the third time this year.
Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s struggles continued during an 0-for-4 night that dropped his OPS to .695.
With two weeks left until the trade deadline, the Blue Jays appear to be slipping toward a potential sell-off. Manager John Schneider, who expressed frustration after Sunday's 3-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox, explained Monday that the entire clubhouse is fed up with the rough season.
"I'm frustrated with them. I'm not mad at them, I am frustrated with them. We all are," Schneider said, per Sportsnet. "And the message again, like we talked about before the game, it's a fine line between saying, 'Hey, every game is important,' and there's a sense of urgency, and then playing tight. I want the guys to go home, get a good night's rest, come tomorrow, and compete their ass off. That's all you can do."
