TORONTO -- The Blue Jays wanted to come out of the All-Star break looking like a new team, but this series loss to the White Sox carried over all of the old themes from the first half.
Sunday afternoon’s 3-0 loss left the Blue Jays (46-53) still scrambling to gain some traction in an American League Wild Card race that won’t wait around for them forever.
“We’ve got to start winning,” manager John Schneider said. “That’s just the bottom line. It doesn’t matter how you do it. If you win 1-0 or 10-9, you’ve got to start winning.”
This is what mattered most Sunday:
1. Trey Yesavage? Better.
Last time out, Yesavage walked seven batters in San Diego, a worrying trend that’s popped up a few times this season. Sunday’s performance looked so much closer to the normal version of Yesavage, but unfortunately, the Blue Jays’ bats needed him to be perfect.
Yesavage allowed three runs over six innings of work, including a home run to Colson Montgomery, but he struck out nine and was missing bats all afternoon, a very encouraging sign after some of his recent outings.
At this point, Toronto needs to steal games. We’ve seen 99 games of a team that’s stuck hovering just below .500. Unless a half-dozen things all start to go right at the same time, which feels like a tall ask, the Blue Jays need their star players to turn a few losses into wins along the way with game-changing performances. Yesavage couldn’t do that Sunday, given so little help from the offense, but he’s absolutely capable of doing it if he keeps pitching like this.
Yesavage’s stubbornness on the mound and straightforward nature can be among his greatest strengths, so he looks at all of this very simply.
“You have to win tomorrow,” Yesavage said. “There’s no coming into tomorrow with the mindset of possibly losing. We need to win tomorrow.”
2. Another very quiet day for the bats
Two days, one run. That won’t get the Blue Jays very far.
It’s up to this lineup to convince the front office that the Blue Jays should still be buyers ahead of the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, not just another team stuck in the middle. It doesn’t feel like this team will suddenly shift into an identity of stringing together hits and moving runners, so the obvious pathway to salvaging this is power.
“Everyone’s looking to put the ball in play. We need some guys to drive the ball,” Schneider said. “Hit some doubles. Hit some home runs. It’s going to be tough to stack some wins unless you’re doing that, but I know this group is capable of doing it.”
That’s exactly how the White Sox have become one of the best stories in baseball this season, fourth in MLB with 131 home runs and threats throughout their lineup. The Blue Jays are tied for 22nd with 101 and rank 26th in slugging percentage (.382). If it weren’t for Kazuma Okamoto and his 22 home runs, we may already be talking about the Blue Jays as sellers.
3. Still a steep hill to climb
If you’re flicking through the channels or MLB.TV at night, it’s time to start keeping an eye on the mess of teams around the Blue Jays. That means the Tigers, Astros, Orioles, Twins, Mariners, Red Sox, White Sox, Rangers and Guardians. It might help to write these all down.
Not only do the Blue Jays need to play better baseball, they need some nights where most of those teams lose. This is so crowded that playing “just a bit better” won’t cut it. The Blue Jays need some help, then to go on a legitimate run of their own.
Next up? The Rays, who come to town Monday for a four-game set. You’ll be forgiven if those words do not fill you with hope, as the AL-leading Rays have always been hard on the Blue Jays and have beaten them in five of six this season. Surviving with a series split would be good enough, frankly, but the Blue Jays would need to go on a long series winning streak following that. Dropping three of four -- or taking a sweep to the Rays -- could quickly change the conversations we’re having about the Blue Jays and the Trade Deadline.