Blue Jays bullpen trying to stay ready

Every five games the Toronto Blue Jays' bullpen has had to step up. 

TORONTO – Every five games the Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen has had to step up.

Sometimes it works, and sometimes, like Toronto’s 7-1 loss to the lowly Chicago White Sox on Friday, it does not. Spencer Turnbull, who served as the so-called opener in the bullpen day, said it’s been a team-first mentality for his fellow relievers.

“It’s a stay ready, next man up kind of thing,” said Turnbull (1-1) after giving up four runs on five hits and two walks over two innings. “Everybody’s pulling their own weight. We all want to win. We want to do whatever we can to contribute.

“Just being able to stay flexible and be able to do whatever is needed. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do my job tonight, and I’ll flush that one but hopefully, I’m sure moving forward, it’ll be better.”

It was a double bullpen game, with both teams trotting out a handful of relief pitchers with no starters available.

Mason Fluharty followed Turnbull to the mound for the Blue Jays (40-35). He gave up three runs on two hits and two walks, before Braydon Fisher, Nick Sandlin, Chad Green, Brendon Little and Jeff Hoffman combined for six scoreless innings.

Toronto’s bullpen entered the game with a 3.61 earned-run average, 11th-best in Major League Baseball and seventh in the American League.

“I thought they did a good job from the fourth inning on,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “(Fisher) was great, giving us two innings there and I think everyone did their part in a game like that.