Gassed 'pen can't escape jam as Blue Jays wrap .500 AL East swing 

NEW YORK -- The Blue Jays survived this road trip against the Rays and Yankees, but when they land home in Toronto, surviving will no longer be enough.

Sunday’s 8-3 loss at Yankee Stadium gave the Blue Jays a 3-3 road trip against their American League East rivals, but they’re now facing a much softer schedule over their final 30 games. With Toronto now sitting 1 1/2 games out of the final AL Wild Card spot in a crowded race, the clock is ticking.

This is what mattered most on Sunday:

1. A bullpen running on fumes
The sixth inning captured what this bullpen has been up against in 2026 when Braydon Fisher was thrown into the toughest assignment a reliever can get: No outs, bases loaded.

Fisher was one pitch away from pulling off the great escape, but he walked in the go-ahead run. Mason Fluharty picked it up after that and allowed a two-run single, breaking the game open, with all three of those runs charged to starter José Soriano.

The Blue Jays’ relievers have been solid this season, many of them absolutely excellent. Fisher’s 63 appearances rank him fifth in Major League Baseball this season, and he continues to give manager John Schneider every reason to trust him in these big spots in the seventh or eighth, a great option in front of Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland.

Fluharty actually tops the Majors, with Sunday being his 69th appearance. The rubber-armed lefty might be the most underrated piece of this bullpen, given his 3.63 ERA paired with constant availability. The scene in the sixth inning Sunday, with both Fisher and Fluharty thrown into a messy inning that was not of their own making, was unfortunately all too fitting.

2. An ugly ending from Soriano
We’re seeing bursts of Soriano, but still not his full, dominant self.

Soriano settled into a very nice groove after allowing two runs in the second, but he seemed to run out of gas when he loaded the bases in the sixth inning on his 100th pitch.

“Just some walks and deep counts, really, but I think his stuff was good,” Schneider said. “It’s just about being in the zone a bit more against this team. They had some good at-bats. I thought he actually got better as he went. In the fifth inning, he was probably as sharp as he’s been. Weird one, just want to be in the zone a little bit more.”

Soriano has put together some nice outings since coming over from the Angels in a major move at the Trade Deadline, but soon enough, we’ll see him fully unleashed with something like six innings of one-run ball and eight strikeouts. Remember, it was Soriano who opened 2026 by allowing just one run over his first six starts (a 0.24 ERA) with the Angels. He can give you an old-fashioned quality start, but he’s also capable of true dominance.

“I think we’re in a good position right now,” Soriano said. “If we keep playing good, I think we can make it.”

3. One big thing: Hitting with runners in scoring position
If the Blue Jays were hitting for power, this wouldn’t matter nearly as much. They’re not, though, which makes it absolutely necessary for them to hit with runners in scoring position. Two singles require a third single to drag a run across. This is how they fared in this series against the Yankees:

• Friday’s 3-1 loss: 1-for-14
• Saturday’s 4-3 win: 4-for-18
• Sunday’s 8-3 loss: 1-for-9

“You’ve got to zone into a spot where you can drive the ball a bit more consistently,” Schneider said. “It’s not like they’re throwing 80% breaking balls or fastballs in certain counts. I think you’ve just got to be a little more patient.”

If we were still in April or May, it would be easier to write this off as a matter of small sample sizes, but it’s far too late for that. It’s no secret that the Blue Jays are a high-contact team that lacks power, so opposing pitchers haven’t needed to pitch scared. There’s clearly something in Toronto’s approach that needs improving here, and if power isn’t going to ride in and save the day, the Jays will need to find a more efficient brand of small ball, which we’ve seen some more encouraging flashes of lately.

Without power, though, every margin is so thin. This only gets more difficult in the postseason, too, where the Blue Jays would be facing No. 1 and No. 2 starters.