Toronto Blue Jays: Grilli cheese doesn’t aim to please

The Toronto Blue Jays’ 7-0 loss to the New York Yankees was disappointing, but many are concerned about Jason Grilli‘s performance as he cost the Jays the game.

The series between the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees has been bittersweet. The Yankees took the first game in an upsetting fashion for the Jays with a 12-2 loss.

The second game ended in a 7-5 win for the Jays – it was a tight win, but it showed improvement. The third game in the series was sour — to say the least — and the Jays were shut out 7-0, with the highlight of this disaster was placed on Jason Grilli.

Not the same Grilli

It is without a doubt that Grilli’s season so far with the Blue Jays has been hard to watch and upsetting. According to SB Nation:

"“This wasn’t just the Blue Jays losing a game to the division leader anymore; it was a Jason Grilli possibly watching his career come to an end.”"

A dramatic statement? Yes! But an improbable statement? No. Grilli gave up four home runs and that is not something the Blue Jays can just ignore.

Although the Jays have shown improvement, there’s still an inconsistency that is dampening their chances of victory. Grilli’s performance was a tough pill to swallow.

Is this the last of Grilli?

The baseball Gods just aren’t on Grilli’s side this season and his 2016 campaign with the Jays just hasn’t appeared this year. It’s unfortunate, as he is a player that brings a lot of passion and heart to the game.

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When Grilli gets out of an inning he wears his emotions on his sleeves. But with his poor performances this year John Gibbons has been forced to limit his game play. His pitch location has been off and he’s just been allowing too many walks and home runs.

It seems to be that hitters have just figured Grilli out as a pitcher. It’s an unsettling situation as he is a very likeable guy and his teammates love him, but the question is if he should be removed from the roster?

Gibbons absolutely adores Grilli, but when it comes to looking at his bullpen he uses his pitchers accordingly. Unfortunately, he only turns to Grilli when the other pitchers have been used a lot and the same goes for J.P. Howell.

Next: When will Steve Pearce return?

At the end of the day it is nothing personal, it’s just the game of baseball. The only way Grilli will ultimately stay with the roster is if he can turn his game around and maintain leverage in significant situations. Only time will be able to tell if this will happen.