Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Corey Dickerson slides home safely past Toronto Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin (55) as home plate umpire David Rackley, left, makes the call during fourth inning AL baseball action in Toronto on Tuesday.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
The perception is that the Toronto Blue Jays' recent conversion to a six-man starting pitching rotation was about protecting the current health and future welfare of Aaron Sanchez more than anything else.
The young starter is enjoying a breakout season, to be sure, and the Blue Jays waffled mightily on how to best monitor his innings-pitched workload to ensure he wouldn't surpass his best-before date and wear out his talented arm.
The bullpen was touted as the safest landing spot to ensure Sanchez, 11-2 on the season, would be available to pitch in the playoffs, should Toronto get there.
The Blue Jays even went out and acquired Francisco Liriano at the trade deadline to take Sanchez's place in the rotation when the time was right.
Now, with last week's aboutface, a six-man rotation, for the time being, will be what is best – not only for long-term health of Sanchez, but for the rest of a staff that has performed remarkably well all season.
Especially Marco Estrada, Tuesday night's starter against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre, who has pitched mightily this year despite battling consistent back pain from the outset.
Pitching on five days' rest instead of the normal four, Estrada was roughed up early by a leadoff home run by Logan Forsythe as the Rays went on to post a convincing 9-2 win against a surprisingly inept Toronto outfit to even the three-game series at 1-1.
The Blue Jays' uncharacteristically sloppy defenders did not do any favours behind Estrada, committing two errors, one by right fielder Jose Bautista and the other by second baseman Devon Travis in the fourth that allowed Tampa Bay's second run to cross.
The vaunted Toronto offence was also asleep at the switch, where a key hit or two early on could have changed the course of the game.
Trailing 3-0 in the fifth, the Blue Jays loaded the bases with none out and managed two runs, which they promptly gave back in the top of the sixth.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases again with none out in the sixth, but this time walked away empty-handed.
After the game, the Blue Jays optioned reliever Danny Barnes to Triple-A in Buffalo. A corresponding roster move will be announced on Wednesday.
Estrada, 7-5 with this loss, was not himself, especially in the fifth when the Rays earned their third run off two singles, a wild pitch and a hit batter.
"I think it's been a real challenge for him," Toronto pitching coach Peter Walker said before the game, referring to Estrada's back issues. "He's battled and he's persevered through some difficult times physically, and we're hoping he's over the hump. But certainly we want to be cautious with him."
It is hoped that by extending the rotation, Estrada will get more time to rest his back and still be a dependable contributor as the Blue Jays push for a second consecutive American League East title.
"The way we're viewing this, it's almost like we'll see how this goes and then we will adjust accordingly," Toronto general manager Ross Atkins said. "I think if all six guys are pitching well and our bullpen and our team has time to rest and recover, then we'll continue with it. If we have setbacks, we'll make adjustments.
But for Estrada, the Blue Jays may be rolling the dice when it comes to providing the 33-year-old with additional downtime. Over the past two seasons in which he established his credentials as one of the game's more reliable right handers, with a devastating changeup, Estrada has actually thrived on less rest, not more.
This season, in a regular five-man rotation in which he pitches on four days rest, Estrada has posted a 3-0 record in eight starts with a 2.05 earned run average.
Working on five days' rest, Estrada's record is 2-3 in eight starts with an alarming 4.01 ERA.
It was the same pattern last year when he was 6-3 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 starts on four days rest, but 4-4 in 10 starts after five days R&R, with an ERA of 4.79.
Estrada admitted he might have been a bit rusty on Tuesday with the longer layoff.
"I've got to do a better job just getting ready," he said. "Maybe throw longer bullpens or just throwing in general. But it's no excuse, just got beat today."
One school of thought is that for a pitcher who relies heavily on precision to get the job done, Estrada's game starts to suffer the longer he is off the mound.
It is not an argument that Atkins is ready to accept, however.
"I think the sample size is a little small there," he said. "And who is he playing against, and who was catching and how is he feeling and how is his back that game? There are too many variables I think to say that there's absolute information in suggesting that you should keep guys on a strict four-day rotation.
"However, if we could, we would, because it's just more routine. But we couldn't find any evidence either way."