Manager John Gibbons loves to let you know that sometimes you must just tip your hat to an opposing pitcher. Such was the case for the Blue Jays on Saturday in a 4-1 loss to the Yankees.

Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (9-5) dazzled Jays hitters in going the distance for his first complete game of the season. He kept them off-balance all day, even changing planes with his fastball late in the game, forcing Josh Donaldson and Chris Colabello to look down for the splitter and putting them away with top-of-the-zone fastballs. Sure, tip your hat but be concerned for the Jays’ bats.

“He was great,” Gibbons said of Tanaka’s five-hit, eight-strikeout performance. “He was on, he was hitting his spots, both sides, nice little split, dotting the fastball. That’s why they signed him, why they brought him over here to do it, just like we picked up Price. That’s what those guys do.”

Tanaka was indeed great on this day, but there are reasons to be concerned not just about one or two slumping Jays, but about a lineup that has been prolific and has dropped below an average of five runs per game over its last 26, since July 18. Tanaka is exceptional, but other more pedestrian pitchers have slowed the Jays offence, becoming more the rule. Kevin Pillar spoke of Tanaka’s dominance.

“That’s the art of pitching,” Pillar explained. “Try to keep hitters off balance. (Tanaka) adds and subtracts with all his pitches. For the most part he keeps the ball down and doesn’t make a ton of mistakes. The mistakes he did make, guys hit the ball hard, but we hit them right at guys. To go through this lineup four times, you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due.”

This is where the Jays should be concerned. If it was simply one or two batters slumping, then it could be a case where somebody new steps up every day. That’s what championship teams do. Sure the Jays’ team defence has dramatically improved along with starters and the bullpen, but . . .

Consider: Ben Revere, since his arrival, is 11-for-48 (.229); Troy Tulowitzki is 13-for-60 (.217), although he has reached base 10 other times on seven walks and three hit by pitch; Pillar, since Aug. 1, is 7-for-48 (.146); Russell Martin, since Aug. 3, is 3-for-31 (.097), with a .222 OPS; Dioner Navarro, since June 24, is 10-for-62 (.161). Justin Smoak, since July 31, is 8-for-46 (.174).

But the slumping lineup will only be corrected by players emerging from slumps and finding their level in terms of production. The starting nine is going to remain more or less constant. The next change will be when second-baseman Devon Travis is healthy.

But the manager controls his rotation. The Jays are a game-and-a-half behind the Yankees with 44 to go. No time to panic. Gibbons has planned the rotation for the next road trip and beyond. It will not be prone to day-to-day change, more proactive than reactive. The only thing to alter it would be injuries. The 44-game starting alignment will not dump a pitcher like the road-struggling Drew Hutchison after one bad start, or reward him with extra assignments for one good outing. It’s set.

While fans and media show emotion, featuring roller-coaster highs and lows, the 25 players, plus coaches, inside major-league clubhouses maintain poker faces, even after an 11-game win streak is snapped, followed by a series loss, maybe even a sweep. Fans and media will make dire predictions concerning the end of all hope. Fans think like that. Those in uniform can’t afford to.

That being said, Hutchison is facing the Yankees on Sunday. That was never in doubt, even after Gibbons announced R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle were flipping assignments against the A’s earlier in the week. How Hutchison pitches Sunday will not make a difference to the final seven weeks.

The schedule Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker have put together could skip Hutchison completely on the upcoming road trip to Philadelphia, Anaheim and Texas, based on the three off days and some outrageous home/road splits for the 24-year-old right-hander.

In home games, heading into Sunday against the Yankees, Hutchison is 9-1, with a 2.68 ERA, averaging more than six innings in 12 starts, with a 1.122 WHIP. In 11 road games, he is 2-1, with a 9.00 ERA, averaging 4 2/3 innings, with an awful 2.000 WHIP. He could shut out the Yankees Sunday and still not draw a start on the upcoming trip. You stay with the plan.

On Saturday morning, Gibbons announced his rotation through next Friday at Angels Stadium. He will go with Dickey and Buehrle in Philadelphia on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then after the second off-day of the week, he will start David Price on Friday against the Angels, who are still dangerous and in the wild-card hunt.

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Marco Estrada follows on Saturday, with Sunday’s assignment likely going to Dickey on regular rest. The reason Gibbons has b een reluctant to complete next weekend’s rotation may be that he wants Hutchison to pitch on Sunday unencumbered by the knowledge he is being skipped on the road.

Then, to finish off the trip, the Jays will send Buehrle, Price and Estrada against the Rangers. Hutchison’s next assignment might be Aug. 29 vs. the Tigers — on 12 days rest.

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