Taking the mound two days after he was acquired by the Angels in a deal with the Chicago White Sox, Giolito didn’t get much help from the Angels — just a solo home run from Shohei Ohtani in the first inning.

Despite Ohtani’s MLB-leading 39th home run of the season, the Angels lost to the Blue Jays, 4-1, here at the Rogers Centre on Friday in the opener of a crucial three-game series, dropping four games behind Toronto for the final wild-card spot in the American League.

Giolito was efficient through his first five innings. He gave up a pair of solo home runs in the second and third innings. After giving up a couple of singles in the third, he retired his next eight batters.

Giolito ran into trouble in the sixth, with Toronto loading the bases after a Andrew Velazquez fielding error. He left game giving up three earned runs, six hits, one intentional walk and five strikouts.

While Ohtani’s home run was the highlight of the night for the Angels, the two-way star was removed from the game before his final at-bat in the ninth because of cramping in his lower legs, Angels manager Phil Nevin said.

Ohtani’s replacement at designated hitter, Michael Stefanic, took a called third strike, prompting Nevin to yell at home plate umpire Mike Estabrook. After the game Nevin got into a confrontation with Estabrook in the dugout and had to be held back by Angels coaches.