Blue Jays' key stretch begins with a thud against Royals
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TORONTO -- Day one of the much-discussed “thirty games against teams with losing records” left the Blue Jays hoping the other 29 go better.
Tuesday’s 5-3 loss to the Royals didn’t have much life to it, the Blue Jays’ offense once again sitting all too quiet. This drops them to 64-69, now 2 1/2 games back of the final AL Wild Card spot.
The final play captured what a frustrating season this has been so well, too. Stuck at 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, Nathan Lukes finally broke through with a two-run base hit, but rounded first base and was thrown out at second to end the game and give the Royals their ninth straight win. Lukes wouldn’t have been the tying run, so this stranded Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on deck.
“You always make a decision off the bat, then you make another when you’re rounding [first], especially when the play is in front of you,” John Schneider said. “Everything gets magnified when you’re not scoring, then you get a little over-anxious, I think, when you’re trying to make something happen.”
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This is what mattered most:
1. One defensive miscue gets magnified
Guerrero is having a strong defensive season, one that likely ends with him being named a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at first base, but one miscue cost the Blue Jays in Tuesday’s game.
On a great bunt from Kyle Isbel in the sixth, Guerrero fielded the ball and threw sidearm to Ernie Clement at first, but sailed the throw a bit to the right, narrowly glancing off the runner. It went well wide of the bag, and instead of having two outs with the other runner still stuck on third base, the Blue Jays allowed two runs in the inning.
“I think he barehanded it and got his feet stuck with where he was,” Schneider said. “It’s a tough play with a runner right at the edge of the dirt and the grass, then it glances off him. That’s a tough play when they’re putting pressure on you. You make sure the runner’s not going to score, then you’ve just got to execute the throw.”
His defense has been the lone bright spot in his game this season, but when the offense isn’t producing, every little mistake can wreck a game. It puts so much pressure on the Blue Jays’ pitching staff and defense, which leads to unfair moments like this, where one errant throw feels like the backbreaker.
2. Scherzer remains crucial to this postseason run
Five minutes into this one, you’d be forgiven if you changed the channel. Max Scherzer quickly loaded the bases with no outs and couldn’t find the zone, but the future Hall of Famer can still lock it in as quickly as anyone.
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After a quick double play, Scherzer escaped that inning with just one run scored and kept the Royals off the board until the fifth, ending his night with five innings of two-run ball. The Blue Jays will take this every time from Scherzer, who is essentially operating as the club’s No. 3 starter following the injury to Shane Bieber.
Update the ticker, too, with Scherzer now at 50 innings pitched. Scherzer is earning a base salary of $3 million, but will earn a $1 million bonus when he reaches 65 innings and every 10 innings following.
3. Straw’s defensive value is clear in left field
Between Jesús Sánchez and Yohendrick Piñango, the Blue Jays have seen some adventures in left field this season. Sánchez has been worth a career-worst -8 Fielding Run Value. Only one qualified outfielder in baseball -- the A’s Lawrence Butler -- grades out worse by that defensive metric in 2026.
That has led to more nights like Tuesday, where Sánchez started as the DH with Myles Straw in left. In the fifth inning, we saw exactly how valuable that can be.
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Even on Salvador Perez’s RBI single, Straw raced into the corner to cut the ball off -- which saved a second run from scoring -- and made an excellent throw to the proper base at second. These throws, in particular, have been a problem for Sánchez. On the next batter, Straw raced in to make a sliding catch on a sinking liner to end the inning.
This will be the nightly dilemma facing the Blue Jays. Straw isn’t hitting much compared to Sánchez, or even George Springer, but an outfield with Straw in left and Brett Bateman in center is excellent defensively. If the Blue Jays are stuck in low-scoring games like they have been all season, there’s a strong argument for this alignment a little more often.