BALTIMORE (AP) — The defending American League champions are on the brink — and a little beat up as well. Toronto’s last-ditch push for a playoff spot took another significant blow Monday night when the Blue Jays lost 4-3 to the Baltimore Orioles, who are also on the verge of elimination. Already dealing with health concerns for Dylan Cease and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Blue Jays lost rookie outfielder Brett Bateman when he hurt his hip making a sliding catch in the second inning. “Jammed his right hip,” manager John Schneider said. “Kind of looked like his knee or his ankle, glad it wasn’t that. He got X-rays, which were negative, and just a little tender. ... Take it day by day.” The Blue Jays scored three quick runs in the first inning, but their offense went dormant after that, and they finally fell behind when Pete Alonso hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot in the eighth. Toronto is 3 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox for the final AL wild card. Baltimore is 4 1/2 games behind. Both the Blue Jays and Orioles can be eliminated as soon as Tuesday. Bateman held onto the ball to retire Baltimore’s Rece Hinds in the second, but his slide left a divot in the ground — not a great sign — and he rolled over awkwardly after making the catch. Bateman was able to walk off the field, but very slowly, and he was replaced the next time Toronto was in the field. Meanwhile, Guerrero was out of the lineup because of back trouble. Starting pitcher Trey Yesavage was limited to two innings in his first game back from knee inflammation. Cease is dealing with shoulder issues and it’s not clear when or if he’ll make another start this season. It’s felt for a while that it simply isn’t Toronto’s year. “It’s baseball,” Schneider said. “Baseball will be baseball. You dwell on it a little bit, but you’ve got to continue to move forward and just keep going.” Toronto acquired Bateman in the August trade that sent Kevin Gausman to the Chicago Cubs. Bateman has hit .320 in 38 games since making his big league debut for the Blue Jays on Aug. 7. Yesavage, who was so impressive during last year’s postseason run, was back on the mound for the first time since Aug. 4. The Blue Jays wanted to limit his pitch count, and he threw 40. “I felt really good,” Yesavage said. “I felt like I could have gone more, but it’s smart to progressively go more and more.” Noah Trister, The Associated Press
