Just when it seemed the Jays had gained some traction with a three-game winning streak last week, they dropped two out of three to the Guardians over the weekend and it feels like things are slipping away again.

It isn’t just that the Jays lost two out of three, it’s how they lost them. The offence wasn’t productive (again), the pitchers didn’t throw enough strikes and the bullpen failed. Just like good teams find different ways to win, bad teams find different ways to lose.

It’s far too soon to call the Blue Jays a bad team as they are 16-18 and just two-and-a-half games behind the first-place Yankees. All we can fairly do at this stage is look at symptoms.

Offensively, the Jays are 25th in runs per game. They have scored more than the Rockies (6-28), Rangers (17-18), Pirates (12-24) and Angels (13-20). They have scored fewer runs than the White Sox (10-25). The Jays aren’t at the bottom in runs scored but they are when it comes to hitting home runs. They only have 23 homers in 34 games, and their .351 slugging percentage is ranked 27th.

It’s clear that the offence has not been good and will have to be much better if the Jays plan on making the postseason. There is reason to believe the bats will come alive.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hasn’t gotten hot yet; Anthony Santander hit 44 homers last year and hasn’t shown his true power thus far; Bo Bichette finally hit his first home run over the weekend and should start to drive the ball; and the remaining cast should be at least a bit better than they are performing.

On the pitching side, the Blue Jays’ 4.24 ERA is ranked 19th. The starting pitching has delivered a 9-13 record and a 4.49 ERA, which is 26th. The bullpen is 7-5 with a 3.91 ERA (16th). These numbers are disappointing because the belief was the Jays would have one of the best starting........

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