TORONTO — There was a hopeful energy in Rogers Centre during the opening moments of Friday’s contest, not the sort of anticipation you’d expect for a team in the Toronto Blue Jays’ position. Applause sustained a little longer than usual after the anthems, and the contest’s first out was cheered louder than most.It was as if 42,000 fans wanted a reset — a new Opening Day. For a team coming out of the All-Star break well under .500 and in urgent need of wins, the crowd hoped Friday’s game against the Chicago White Sox could be a new beginning. After some days of rest, the Jays hoped so, too.It was, with a 12-4 loss, not that fresh a start.There’s no hiding from the Blue Jays’ reality, seven games below .500 and 3 1/2 games behind a postseason spot. It’s not early anymore. There aren’t many more injured players expected to return. The pause has passed, and the trade deadline looms. The Jays have two weeks to salvage the season.Why this July will be an exciting month for MLBKen Rosenthal and Johnny Sweet“It’s kind of make-or-break,” pitcher Kevin Gausman said before the break. “We got to start playing better.”Entering All-Star festivities, opposing executives still expected the Jays to buy at the deadline despite their precarious position outside of the postseason. They’re playing in front of sellout crowds and just went to the World Series. Ownership is invested in victories, and there’s still upside across the roster.The Jays undeniably aren’t in a great spot right now. The team hasn’t played well, the stars haven’t been consistent, and the rotation has been an issue of late. Writing off this team is understandable, given the Jays’ sluggish first half, but they aren’t truly dead yet. Weird things happen in baseball all the time — the Boston Red Sox are on an 11-game win streak despite looking far worse than the Jays for months. Toronto needs to rattle off one of those unforeseen runs, because the American League playoff picture remains open.Spencer Miles allowed six earned runs on Friday, tying his season high. (Cole Burston / Getty Images)“We haven’t played as well or as consistently as we wanted to,” manager John Schneider said before Friday’s game, “but if it wasn’t still attainable it would be a different vibe in here, coming off of last year. The league, kind of thankful that it is where it is, that there’s still some realistic chance of getting in the postseason.”Eventually, though, projected play and hopes of consistency must give way to reality. That reality matters most when franchise-impacting decisions must be made. On trade deadline day, the Jays’ record will matter. Their playoff chances, which dropped below 17 percent per FanGraphs on Friday, will matter. There are 15 games between now and Aug. 3 for Toronto to add to the win column and improve playoff odds.The Jays wasted one of those chances Friday.Hopeful energy gave way to anxious quiet pretty early. Spencer Miles, who has stepped up many times for Toronto this summer, allowed blooped hits and a homer in a five-run second inning. The White Sox piled on three more in the fifth and four in the seventh. The fresh start fell flat.Yet, with the Jays down eight runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, remaining fans still cheered as Ernie Clement reached on an infield hit. It’s a fanbase that’s clinging to hope right now, wishing for the feelings that filled last fall. It’s a fanbase that can see the upside on Toronto’s roster and hopes those heights will be attained.There are always reasons to remain optimistic with months left in a season. George Springer entered the break with a .791 OPS in his previous 20 games and homered again Friday. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. blasted three balls over 105 mph against the White Sox, notching three of the game’s five hardest pieces of contact. We’ve seen what this Jays team can do when it’s rolling. One hot stretch, and the Jays are right in the mix. But they need that hot stretch to arrive.“We haven’t played our best,” Schneider said. “We’ve had a ton of injuries, like every team has. I’m not putting that as an excuse. But the law of averages says we’re going to play better. So I like the fact that that is hopefully in front of us.”Time is running out. The Jays need Guerrero to find his swing, Springer to keep heating up, Daulton Varsho to end his funk, Shane Bieber to find his footing and the bullpen to sustain success. They need their starters, Schneider said, to be a reason they win. They need it all to happen right now.There are 15 games left until the trade deadline. Maybe the Jays pull off a 2024 Detroit Tigers: sell veterans and still get hot in September to make the playoffs. Maybe they rattle off wins, buy on Aug. 3 and still miss October. But, in all likelihood, this next 15-game stretch will define their season.The Jays hoped to hit the ground running out of the break. For now, they’re still crouched in the starting blocks.