TORONTO -- The Blue Jays are going to make this interesting, aren’t they?
With another win Monday night, 2-1, to open their series against the Red Sox, the Blue Jays carried over some momentum from their recent 4-3 road trip. It’s still a steep hill to climb, given all of the teams stacked up in front of them in the American League Wild Card race, but this team is finally playing some better baseball.
Monday’s game featured a long, confusing break for a ruling, too, in which the Red Sox were awarded a run in the top of the seventh inning … nearly 15 minutes after the inning had ended.
From Monday’s win, this is what mattered most:
1. You hit? You play.
Charles McAdoo’s solo home run off Sonny Gray got the Blue Jays on the board in the fifth, and at this point of the season, manager John Schneider is willing to ride the hot hand. We’ve even seen that with rookie Brett Bateman, who’s getting looks at the top of the lineup.
What the Blue Jays have done through their first 120 games on offense hasn’t worked. There seems to be an openness to trying new configurations after the Trade Deadline, and for young players like McAdoo, that’s great news.
“Fifth straight game with a homer for McAdoo. See you guys tomorrow,” Schneider joked as he took the podium following the win, knowing that questions about the controversial call were coming.
The only shortcut the Blue Jays have back into the playoff race is power. McAdoo has 18 homers this season between Triple-A Buffalo (16) and Toronto (two), which is a fine start. He was a late addition to Monday’s lineup to replace Kazuma Okamoto (left knee contusion), but that one swing earned him more at-bats.
2. Who’s up next in the rotation?
Yes, we’ve all been forced to face this question a dozen times in 2026. This rotation has felt cursed, all of that incredible depth slowly chewed away by injuries. Now, with Kevin Gausman out the door to the Cubs, Spencer Arrighetti dealing with a nerve issue in his foot and Jameson Taillon leaving Monday’s start early with right forearm tightness, it’s time to ask again … who’s next?
Simeon Woods Richardson, who threw three innings of one-run ball Monday, could be first up. He’s a natural starter and had been working between three and five innings in Triple-A, which is a good enough baseline. Some combination of Lazaro Estrada, Chad Dallas and C.J. Van Eyk could also be used, while righty John Klein -- acquired at the Deadline from the Twins in the Jeff Hoffman deal -- is another option.
A month or two ago, Spencer Miles would have been the easy answer. He’s already up to 75 innings, though, and the Blue Jays would prefer to keep him in a shortened role to finish the season.
3. Less is more
This team is right in the middle of 17 games in 17 days, the product of that one rescheduled game in Chicago against the Cubs last Thursday eating up what was once an off-day.
These days are a grind. The chaos of the Trade Deadline has passed, but we haven’t quite reached the adrenaline of September and the race for the postseason. These players have already spent 120 games together on top of Spring Training, long days and long nights the entire way. Right around now, Schneider and the staff need to find days to ease off.
“We did that on Saturday [in Philadelphia]. We showed up later before the game and we’re adjusting the work a little bit here and there,” Schneider said. “There will be some days mixed in, probably, where we do come in a little bit later. It’s about being smart with it. You don’t have to take ground balls every day and you don’t have to hit on the field every day. Save up your energy for the game.”