Dodgers hit hard in 11-5 defeat

By the time the ball off Troy Glaus’ bat reached its apex, the chorus of boos reached its peak. And by the time it landed midway up the left-field pavilion, Dodgers Manager Grady Little was on his way to the mound.

The 86-mph fastball ended a frustrating outing for Jason Schmidt, who only five days ago dizzied the Padres in a one-hit, six-inning performance in his first game back from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for two months.

But in the Dodgers’ 11-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays that preceded the team’s first closed-door meeting of the season, Schmidt reopened some old questions.

Mainly, if he doesn’t have the velocity -- he topped out at 88 mph Sunday -- will his command be enough for him to, at his best, anchor the staff, and at his worst, squeak by?

“It didn’t feel good from the get-go,” said Schmidt, who gave up six runs and nine hits in four-plus innings. “It was mechanical and once that happened, other things start happening. It’s frustrating because you want to come out and build on that last start and get stronger.”

Glaus’ home run was served in “a place I did not want to go,” Schmidt said.

It was that kind of day for Schmidt, who gave up doubles to Alex Rios and Matt Stairs to start the game in a two-run first inning for the Blue Jays.

On a day that the Dodgers rested Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent, they lost consecutive series for the first time this year.

“It’s a long season,” Little said. “We’ve hit a little bump in the road, but we’ll get through this.”

They remain in third place in the NL West, 1 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres, who were swept by the Seattle Mariners over the weekend.

The Dodgers now play host to the slumping New York Mets, who have won only three of their last 11 games.

“If you go by past results in the last 10 or 11 games, maybe we’ll tie that series,” Little joked.

The Dodgers matched the Blue Jays in the bottom of the first when Russell Martin stole second after singling against Roy Halladay and Luis Gonzalez plated him with a double. Gonzalez came around on a hit by James Loney, who was recalled from triple-A Las Vegas before the game.

But the Blue Jays added another run in the second and two more in the third before batting around in a four-run fifth inning ignited by Glaus’ first home run.

“The way he moves the ball and changes speeds, you try to look for a fastball and adjust to the off-speed,” Glaus said.

Glaus hit his second home run of the game and 10th of the season in the sixth inning against reliever Mark Hendrickson.

In the battle of aching aces, Halladay was barely scathed.

He had given up eight or more runs in three of his last four starts after undergoing an appendectomy that sidelined him for three weeks. But after the rocky first inning, he settled down to pitch a strong seven innings, giving up only two more hits.

“He’s a pretty good pitcher and he spotted the ball well,” outfielder Matt Kemp said.

“We were maybe a little too impatient and playing into his game and it worked out for him.”

As for the meeting, Little referred to it as a “little baseball chapel at the end of the game,” but declined to discuss it further.

“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Martin said, when asked if the gathering was productive. “If we win [today], then it was a good meeting.”

jonathan.abrams@latimes.com