Because he is Roy Halladay, he is held to a different standard that would seem unfair were it not for the fact that the Blue Jays ace measures himself by a bar that most pitchers cannot reach. As such, a few ordinary starts can serve as cause for alarm in the world of the 32-year-old.

That has been the case amidst an extremely uncharacteristic stumble by the right-hander. On Sunday, he allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings and en route to Toronto’s 7-0 loss to the Red Sox. Halladay’s outing would have seemed decent for most. But for Halladay (13-8), it served as cause for borderline alarm given that his ordinary performance came on the heels of two others that fell short of vintage Halladay form.

On Aug. 19, Halladay allowed five runs (four earned) in just five innings against the Sox. On Aug. 24, he was shelled for eight runs (seven earned) in six innings against the Rays. And so, the three start stretch during which Halladay has gone 0-3 with a 7.94 ERA has been sufficient to raise questions.

It is, after all, just the third time in Halladay’s illustrious career that he has lost three straight games. He has failed to exceed six innings over a three-start stretch for the first time in more than two years.

And so, there have been whispers as people try to puzzle over the roots of the pitcher’s brief struggles. Is Halladay injured? Or has his spirit been broken by his continued existence on a Toronto team that made him openly available on the trade market last month?

While such explanations might have appeal, the Jays insist none are accurate. Halladay’s cutter has been inconsistent of late, sometimes backing up and staying middle-in on right-handed hitters (as it did on a ball that Rocco Baldelli mashed for a homer on Sunday) rather than running consistently from right to left. But that detail notwithstanding, Toronto sees no other indicators that would suggest a need for panic about the ace.

“As far as one glaring thing that stands in his way of trying to win, I don’t see anything,” said Jays pitching coach Brad Arnsberg. “He’s 92-94 (mph) with his sinker, 89-92 with his cutter, the changeup has been good speeds. The hook’s been pretty good. There’s no wear and tear in terms of stuff. You watch his stuff, and there’s nothing that alarms me. It’s just a credit to other clubs.

“They’ve worked him hard, gone deep in pitch counts. They’ve worked him into the 70s and 80s in four and four-plus innings,” he continued. “Obviously, it’s taken its toll. The body starts wearing down a little bit, execution is down a little bit and you’ve got to dig down deeper.”

Halladay, too, felt that he had his full complement of pitches to work with. Like Arnsberg, he credited the Red Sox for his struggle on Sunday.

“At times, everything was good. Then you make a bad pitch or two,” said Halladay. “Teams like this, they make you pay for it. I didn’t feel like I was lacking any one thing. There were definitely times when I was making better pitches than others. Then, when you make a couple mistakes, it’s costly.

“That’s why they’re good teams. They take advantage of mistakes and they don’t miss them very often.”

Nonetheless, Halladay is unaccustomed to seeing even elite lineups taking advantage of his mistakes with such regularity as has been the case of late. It has been enough to inspire an unexpected what-if game for teams that considered trading for the pitcher at this year’s July 31 deadline: had he been traded, would Halladay have taken his new club any closer to a championship?

Since the deadline, Halladay has a 2-4 record and 4.71 ERA in six starts. In the same period, Clay Buchholz is 2-2 with a 4.75 ERA in five outings.

That is not to say that Buchholz – who would have had to be included in any package for the Toronto ace – is or has been Halladay’s equal. It is, however, a reminder about just how difficult it can be for one starting pitcher acquired at the trade deadline to single-handedly change a team’s fortunes. One brief period of mortality is sufficient to wipe out much of a deal’s impact, at least in the season during which it is made.

None of that matters to Halladay, who shows no evidence of being distracted by thoughts of the fact that he was not traded. Instead, the pitcher’s increasing frustration seems to be from his inability to perform to the elite standard that he sets for himself.

Even after his recent struggles, Halladay is fourth in the American League with a 3.13 ERA, and fifth with 13 wins. Yet that body of work offers the pitcher little consolation.

“He takes it so personally. It means a lot to him to go out there and battle and keep this team in the game,” said Arnsberg. “When he gives up three or four runs, he feels like he hasn’t done his job. But for the normal man, that’s a quality start. It’s a testament to the true gamer he is.”