Making an appearance out of the bullpen against the Los Angeles Angels following a pair of openers, Lauer allowed six earned runs, including three homers, while walking two and striking out five in five innings in a 6-1 loss on Sunday
It was Lauer’s first time pitching out of the bullpen since April 17 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, when he also followed an opener and expressed his dislike after.
“To be real blunt, I hate it. I can’t stand it,” he said, before adding later that “it messes with your pre-game routine.”
Following those comments, Lauer’s next three outings were as a traditional starter. He held a 6.82 ERA through eight appearances this season ahead of Sunday’s game.
Entering in the fifth inning, the 30-year-old struggled to find the strike zone, throwing six of his first seven pitches for balls.
On the eighth pitch of the inning, Oswald Peraza took Lauer deep over the wall for a two-run home run.
Then, with men on base, Lauer allowed a double to the wall by Vaughn Grissom, which scored another pair of runs to extend the Angels’ lead to 4-1.
In the sixth, Jo Adell took a pitch by Lauer the opposite way for a solo home run to make it 5-1.
Lauer would eventually settle in, retiring eight batters in a row before Adell homered again in the ninth.
The Blue Jays opted to go with Spencer Miles as the opener and the Rule 5 draft pick went three innings, giving up just a pair of hits while recording two strikeouts.
Tommy Nance handled the fourth inning before handing the ball over to Lauer.
Toronto struggled to get much going offensively, scoring just a run in the first inning and registering five hits against Angels starter Jose Soriano.