The signs of a Blue Jays season that can’t end soon enough were everywhere on Friday night at the Rogers Centre. They were present in the cardboard moving boxes and suitcases that were rapidly filling up in the home clubhouse prior to what would be a miserable Game 160. The sentiment certainly prevailed among a less than enthusiastic and blindly loyal crowd of 31,597 who found it in their hearts to show up for a meaningless game against the 100-loss moribund Marlins of Florida.
And finally, in a season where next to nothing has gone right for the Jays, not even Jose Berrios could escape the misery on a late September night. The right-hander, who had been aces of late, was chased after three innings with six runs allowed on six hits as the Jays tottered to a less-than-crisp 15-5 loss. As painful as the past two months have been, until Friday the Berrios brilliance has been an outstanding outlier as the consistent right-hander fashioned a stretch that entrenched his status as the team’s top starter heading into the off-season.
In those eight starts, the personable Puerto Rican had allowed just nine earned runs for a skimpy 1.51 ERA. The 30-year-old has been the rock of a Jays rotation that has teetered at times this season, winning a career-high 16 times and delivering eight consecutive quality starts prior to Friday’s wobble.
In a wayward season that was lost long ago, the strong finish by Berrios was a testament to the professionalism lauded by his coaches and teammates.
