The Toronto Blue Jays' bullpen had another brutal outing on Monday, and fans were not pleased with the team.
Things looked good for the Blue Jays heading into the bottom of the ninth in their series opener against the Cincinnati Reds. Bo Bichette and Daulton Varsho had hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the inning to help Toronto erase a 2-1 deficit and take a 4-2 lead.
It was shaping up to be another comeback victory for the Blue Jays with just three outs separating them from the win. With the usual closer, Jeff Hoffman, unavailable, Toronto opted to go with Tommy Nance to finish things off, but that didn't go as expected.
Nance recorded one out, but gave up two hits before Brendon Little was brought in to replace him. From there, things got even worse, as Little allowed the Reds to get two more hits and drive in three runs to walk off the game by a score of 5-4.
The Blue Jays once again fetched defeat from the jaws of victory, and it was almost entirely due to their bullpen staff being unable to hold up their end of the bargain. Chris Bassitt had a wonderful start, going six innings and only allowing two runs on five hits. Somehow, the bullpen found a way to record worse numbers in just a half inning.
Toronto fans were understandably upset by the result and did not mince words on social media. Lots were upset with Little's performance.
"Get Brendon Little off my baseball team," said one frustrated Blue Jays fan.
"I'd rather see my grandma get the call from the pen than Brendon Little," said another.
Others decided to direct their ire towards Blue Jays manager John Schneider, who some fans thought pulled Nance from the game a bit too early. He left the game with one out and runners on first and second.
"What was the thought behind handing the ball to Brendon Little?" said one Blue Jays fan.
"Nice going, John, just go ahead and put our reliever, who's notorious for not throwing strikes, into the game. Amazing managing," said another.
The bullpen has been struggling quite a bit in recent weeks, with this being the third blown save in the ninth inning over the past six games. Having Eric Lauer back in the pen should help give Toronto some more options, but something will need to change if the Blue Jays want to make some noise in the postseason.