Blue Jays' Schneider: 'The mood is fine' amid struggles
Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider says his team is in a good frame of mind following Tuesday's 10-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
"Guys are grinding. If guys weren't working their asses off and trying to get better and get out of this, you'd be a little bit more frustrated than you are,” Schneider said, according to Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling.
"But the mood is fine."
Toronto has lost five of its last six games and struggled to score in all but one of them - an eight-run performance in a loss to the Washington Nationals on Sunday.
The Blue Jays' offensive woes - they rank 25th in MLB in runs scored - continued against a streaking Phillies squad that entered Tuesday having won six straight and 10 of the last 11 games.
Philadelphia's Cristopher Sánchez and Spencer Turnbull held Toronto to one run on six hits, while its offense lit up Blue Jays starter José Berríos for eight earned runs. Berríos entered the game with a 1.44 ERA.
Schneider, who was ejected in the fourth inning, stood by the effort but thinks the team isn't delivering when it matters most.
"It comes down to players in certain moments having really good at-bats or making really big pitches or making good plays on defense. That's what it comes down to," the manager said.
"And we can all look ourselves in the face and say that we're not doing that right now. Not for a lack of prep, not for a lack of effort. We’ve just got to get better in those spots."
The Blue Jays entered the season with high expectations and the league's eighth-largest payroll but sit last in the AL East with a 16-20 record.