SAN DIEGO – A key driver for the Toronto Blue Jays during their run of four straight series wins over the past couple of weeks has been the dominant work of their starting rotation. Ten times in the past 12 games, their starters have allowed one run or less, and even Sunday, when Chris Bassitt allowed four runs, three earned, in 5.1 innings of a 6-3 loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday, they were very much left in a position to win.

Expecting the rotation to remain that dominant all season long is unrealistic, of course, but consistent quality from the starters is very much going to be the bedrock of whatever success the Blue Jays experience this season. Their typically elite defence is fundamental to that, as well, with some rare miscues in the finale before a Petco Park crowd of 44,527 helping to prevent them from collecting their first series sweep of the season.

The game’s first run scored when Manny Machado’s single to right field slipped under George Springer’s glove and rolled far enough for Jake Cronenworth to score from first. Then in the decisive two-run sixth, a catcher’s interference call on Danny Jansen with the bases loaded pushed across the second run after a Trevor Richards bases-loaded walk broke a 2-2 tie.

The Padres tacked on two more in the eighth on Xander Bogaerts’ bases-loaded walk and Fernando Tatis Jr.’s sacrifice fly off Nate Pearson – the first runs of the season off the right-hander – and it was too much for the Blue Jays to overcome.

Runs remain at a premium for them, with their per-game average of 3.91 runs ranking in the bottom third of the majors, well below the big-league average of 4.49. Even while winning four straight series, they’ve scored a maximum of five runs in their 10 victories, which has meant their starters and relievers have again had little margin of error to work with.

That’s also meant they’ve needed to be opportunistic and better in other facets of the game to squeeze out whatever production they can find.