With their own ace on the mound in Kevin Gausman, the Jays were engaged in an impressive pitching duel — until the Astros’ fifth, anyway. The bottom of the Astros order got to Gausman with a pair of singles and a double part of a five-hit, four-running inning that as good as ended it for the Jays. The frustration is clearly building for Toronto hitters — or should be, given what’s unfolding. With just 12 home runs thus far, the Jays are ranked 29th in the majors, ahead of the Royals with only 11. That’s clearly a putrid pace for an offence that has been in a steady regression for going on five seasons now. The group that banged out 262 homers in 2021 now feels like a distant memory. Facing an elite pitcher in Brown, who was firing his best stuff on Monday, the Jays had next to nothing against the righty who blitzed them with nine strikeouts through his seven innings, and two hits allowed.