Listless Blue Jays shut out by Red Sox on hockey night at the dome

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It was hockey night at the Rogers Centre on Monday night — thanks to a giveaway feting wildly popular Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement — so apologies in advance for the puck analogies.

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The Maple Leafs may not be in the playoffs, but with hockey fever alive and well in downtown Toronto — for one night anyway — it did not go so well for the blue and white.

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Facing the nastiness of Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez — and some sloppiness from their own counterpart, Dylan Cease — the Jays were never in the opener of the three-game series, falling 5-0.

In their first game against an AL East opponent this season, the Jays were thoroughly drubbed and fell to 12-16 while the tumultuous Sox (12-17) won their third in a row.

The Jays didn’t manage a hit off of Suarez until the sixth inning — a thumping leadoff double from Jesus Sanchez, who wasn’t able to advance further.

Other than a spectacular Davis Schneider catch in left field to rob the Red Sox of another run, that was the extent of the excitement for the sellout crowd of 41,785, many of them hoping to get a Clement Blue Jays hockey jersey. And many of those leaving empty-handed of swag and disappointed with the result.

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Where it went wrong

Cease, off to such a great this season, was at his best through the first three innings, mowing down Red Sox hitters, five of them via strikeout to that point.

But things unravelled over the next two-plus innings when he made a throwing error and fell off the mound, leading to an infield single, and ran his pitch count up.

Exiting after 5.2 innings, Cease allowed four runs on seven hits and threw a workhorse volume of 107 pitches. It was an uncharacteristic outing for the right-hander, who had allowed just three earned runs combined in his previous three starts and six total in his five outings with the Jays.

For Cease, his fortunes turned when Boston hitters started taking him deep in counts, the one area where he’s been lacking so far this season. And with those struggles, he didn’t manage a strikeout beyond the third.

“He lost feel for it, for whatever reason,” is how Jays manager John Schneider described his starter’s effort. He’s really good for a reason, but it was one of those battles for him after the third.”

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There was also a scary moment when Cease tumbled to the turf in the fifth inning. Schneider’s immediate thought went to the tumble from Cody Ponce that ended the righty’s season in his first start back in March.

“I’m glad he’s okay, Schneider said. “I had Cody Ponce flashbacks.

“I’ve got all the confidence in the world that he’ll rebound and be a little more stable going forward in games.”

With the offence not able to crack Suarez, that 4-0 lead felt insurmountable. The veteran right-hander was dominant, pitching eight complete and allowing that one hit and a walk while striking out 10.

“He’s good. He’s stubborn and he doesn’t give in,” Schneider said of Suarez. “He was even more stubborn tonight.”

Why the hockey talk?

Prior to the Boston beatdown, it was an Ernie love-in both outside and inside the Rogers Centre.

Lines that began in the morning to snag the giveaway Clement Blue Jays jersey had stretched down city streets by mid-afternoon, causing mayhem in the vicinity of the dome.

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Prior to the game, it was Clement’s teammates getting in on the show. All of them sported the jersey, with George Springer coming out with a hockey (not batting) helmet and Hartford Whalers coloured gloves, and Louis Varland sporting a full visor.

It was quite a scene all around, for Clement who also caught the ceremonial opening pitch from Toronto Sceptres and Team Canada forward, Daryl Watts.

Why do Toronto fans love Clement?

It doesn’t hurt when you have the kind of post-season that the Rochester native did last October, but the affection runs deeper than that.

“Performance and personality,” was Jays manager John Schneider’s answer when asked to nail it down. “I think when you get 30 hits in the post-season, that’s something. And you go play for Team USA, that’s something. And then when you don’t change who you are, I think people appreciate that.”

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Schneider noted it would have been difficult to imagine three years ago that Clement would ever be the man of the giveaway night. And the best thing,

As corny as it sounds, fans love the hockey player in him, according to his manager.

“I think the way he plays is very relatable to a lot of people,” Schneider said of Clement, who like the majority of his teammates was held hitless on Monday. “He plays hard.

“He’s doing commercials and golf outings and he gets a loud ovation every day when they announce his name. He’s earned it.”

Quick hits 

With the loss, the Jays home record slipped to 8-8 on the season … The Jays will attempt to even the series on Tuesday in the much-anticipated season’s debut of last year’s rookie star starter, Trey Yesavage … In three career appearances against the Jays, Suarez has let to allow an earned run.

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