SAN FRANCISCO -- Searching for a turning point in their season, the Blue Jays keep turning the wrong way.
Monday’s 10-1 loss to the Giants put all of this season’s flaws on display, from a dormant offense to a defensive game that just doesn’t feel as clean as the 2025 squad.
Here is what mattered most from the loss:
1. The drought continues
The Blue Jays almost made the wrong kind of history Monday night. When Kazuma Okamoto homered in the sixth, this lineup was just one out away from going 30 consecutive innings without scoring a run. That’s just two shy of the club’s all-time record (32), set May 12-16, 1981.
We don’t need to overcomplicate the problem. The Blue Jays have too many players going through a cold stretch -- or cold season -- at the exact same time. An overhauled hitting philosophy won’t solve this, nor will manager John Schneider throwing chairs and cursing in the clubhouse. This is up to the players who, one at a time, need to step up.
“There’s a pretty consistent approach against us. It’s shoving fastballs in on us, whether it’s two-seam, four-seam or cutter,” Schneider said. “The only way to flip that is to start doing some damage, or to have some at-bats that are a bit longer, making the pitcher work more and get some traffic.”
The Blue Jays have fallen into the basement offensively, tied for 28th in runs scored (357), 25th in home runs (89) and 27th in slugging percentage (.381).
“A lot of times, when you’re going through it, you want to make it happen right away,” Schneider said. “A lot of times, the best way to do it is to go up there, see a couple pitches and make the pitcher work a little bit. We’re definitely caught in between that right now.”
2. The highs and lows of Kazuma Okamoto
Okamoto doesn’t hit many wall-scrapers, does he? His 20th home run of the season Monday was another towering, majestic shot out to left-center field, a no-doubter that lets you sit back and enjoy the show for a few seconds.
Okamoto is running away with the team lead in homers, more than twice as many as second-place George Springer (8). He’s also driven in 55 runs, trailed by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Andrés Giménez, who are tied with 35. Okamoto is, in every possible way, this lineup’s most valuable hitter. On pace for 30-plus home runs, Okamoto is the engine, and he needs some help.
Defensively? Okamoto, who’s been rock solid for most of this season, didn’t help the cause. A routine ground ball that should have been a double play rolled under his glove in the very next inning, which led to a five-run frame.
One step forward, two steps back.
3. Losing the little things …
The 2025 Blue Jays did all of the little things right. Even on their “bad” days, they didn’t help the other team beat them. That’s obviously changed.
We’ve seen defensive miscues and baserunning errors throughout the season, and at this point, those can no longer be categorized as “uncharacteristic.” A low-scoring team like the Blue Jays -- especially during this recent stretch -- needs to play airtight baseball. That isn’t happening right now.
Another example of this came in the fifth, when the Blue Jays chose to intentionally walk Luis Arraez when he reached a 2-0 count with a runner on third and two outs. It was bold, with Casey Schmitt and his 17 homers coming to the plate, but then the Giants pulled a trick out of their bag. It was a double steal, first with Arraez breaking for second, then slamming on the brakes as Ernie Clement caught the throw from Kirk. As that ball sailed, Victor Bericoto broke from third and scored.
“It starts with the little things and the preparation. You’ve got to find some small victories,” Clement said. “You’ve got to find a way to win small facets of the game. Those add up and turn into big innings and big wins. We have to start small and work up from there. We’ll figure out what that is and get to it.”
If the offense is putting up numbers and this play happens in a 7-2 win, no one is talking about it. When everything is magnified, though, it feels so much more painful to give away these inches.