Heartbreak piles up for Toronto after Soriano's brilliant beginning

TORONTO -- A night that could have been so many spectacular things crashed and burned on the Blue Jays.

It could have been a no-hitter, which José Soriano carried into the seventh inning. It could have been Kazuma Okamoto's defining game with the Blue Jays after he launched a three-run shot to put his team ahead, the biggest swing of this team’s season in the moment.

Instead, it’s a 6-5 loss, and one of the toughest the Blue Jays have faced in 2026. Toronto (75-76) now is one game back of the third AL Wild Card spot with 11 games to go. That spot is still occupied by the Guardians (76-75), who are in the middle of a key series against the White Sox which could decide the AL Central.

This is what mattered most:

1. The AL Wild Card picture

This is where tiebreakers become absolutely crucial. Remember, both the Blue Jays and Yankees finished last year with 94 wins, tied atop the AL East, but the Blue Jays held the edge in their head-to-head series and that gave them the crown.

This time, the Blue Jays will be chasing either the Guardians or the White Sox for that final spot while those two teams jockey for the AL Central. The Blue Jays hold the tiebreaker over the Guardians this season, so they’d only need to tie them for the third Wild Card spot to advance to the postseason. The Blue Jays do not hold the tiebreaker over the White Sox after going just 1-5 against them this season, so a tie would go to Chicago.

Every single season, late September brings a lesson: We should pay attention to the “head to head” records between likely contenders much earlier than we do, especially in a series that could decide the ultimate tiebreaker.

2. How it all came undone

After Soriano carried that no-hitter into the seventh inning, the Tigers suddenly hit him with a barrage of jabs, five base hits in the time that Soriano could record just a single out. It felt like Soriano could take a run at history Monday night, but instead left the mound with four runs allowed over 6 1/3 innings, a line that doesn’t nearly tell the story of how dominant he looked at one point.

"It was the third time I faced the same lineup, so that's tough facing them three times or four times,” Soriano said. “They made a different approach. Credit to their hitters. They were able to score a couple runs."

After Okamoto’s home run gave the Blue Jays the lead and the Tigers tied it once again in the eighth, the back-breaker came in the ninth, when Louis Varland was covering first base on a ground ball fielded by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Vladdy, ranging far to his right and towards the second baseman, made an accurate throw to Varland, but the Blue Jays’ closer missed it. The ball clipped Varland’s glove and rolled into foul territory beyond first base, allowing Zach McKinstry to race home for the game-winning run.

“That play -- a first baseman to a pitcher -- it’s always tough. I thought Vlad made a good throw,” manager John Schneider said. “We just didn’t execute it.”

This bullpen has been such a strength of the Blue Jays all season long, which makes this even tougher to swallow.

“When you bring in Louis, I think everyone expects it to be perfect,” Schneider said. “He got the big strikeout of [Dillon] Dingler, then a flare hit [in the eighth]. They’ve all been really good. We’ve relied on them all really heavily and we’ll do that again tomorrow.”

3. Okamoto’s big moment lost in the fire

For a few minutes, Okamoto owned the title of “biggest moment of the Blue Jays season” with his three-run shot in the seventh, which put them up 5-4.

This is Okamoto’s defining moment with the Blue Jays so far, a towering home run into the second deck in left field. Down in an 0-2 count with his team needing him more than ever before, Okamoto delivered.

“He’s had a hell of a year,” Schneider said. “That’s a big swing in a big spot. That definitely shifted the momentum. Man, he’s exceeded expectations offensively. He has been huge for us all year.”

This is what the Blue Jays need right now, game-changing power. Alejandro Kirk also had another fantastic night, reaching base three times with two hits and a walk. Now that he’s all the way back from that fractured thumb earlier this season -- his power included -- Kirk is as important to this team’s identity as anyone in a Blue Jays uniform.