Game #136 - Seattle Mariners (64-71) @ Toronto Blue Jays (66-70) - game recap

 

Kazuma Okamoto drove in 3 runs, including a solo HR in an 8-1 rout over the Mariners

After a beat-down yesterday due to a bad day for the pitchers and the offense doing nothing yet again, the Blue Jays were looking to start the weekend with a win as they welcomed the Seattle Mariners to town. The Mariners took the series in Seattle back on the 4th of July long weekend, outscoring the Blue Jays 15-2. Simeon-Woods Richardson, who was a disaster yesterday, was DFA'd. Righty CJ Van Eyk was recalled from AAA-ball. Ace Dylan Cease got the start with Brandon Valenzuelsa behind the plate. Jesus Sanchez was in LF and Brett Bateman was in CF. Andres Gimenez was at SS and  Ernie Clement got the start at 2B. Could the Blue Jays start the weekend with a win? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Mariners opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as Dominic Canzone whacked a solo blast to right-center
• The Blue Jays tied it in the bottom half of the inning as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doubled scoring Brett Bateman
• Three batters later, Guerrero Jr. scored on a sac fly by Kazuma Okamoto
• A batter later, Andres Gimenez singled scoring George Springer
• The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 5th as Nathan Lukes belted a solo jack to right
• Two batters later, Springer hammered a solo bomb to the 2nd deck in left
• Emerson Hancock pitching line: 5IP 8H 5R (all earned) 0BB 1K 67 pitches (49 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 6th as Okamoto whackeda solo blast to left
• Dylan Cease pitching line: 6IP 4H 1R (earned) 1BB 8K 92 pitches (56 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays added a run in the bottom of the 7th as Myles Straw singled scoring Lukes
• A batter later, Okamoto singled scoring Springer
• Final score: Blue Jays 8 Mariners 1

My Take:

• Dylan Cease fired 6 strong innings, giving up a run on 4 hits while walking 1 and striking out 8. Cease became the first pitcher since some guy named Randy Johnson in 2001 to have 19 consecutive starts with 7+ strikeouts. Cease has easily been the best starter in the rotation and should garner some Cy Young votes
• The bullpen held the Mariners to a hit and 3 walks while striking out 1 over the last 3 innings, None of the relievers retired every batter they faced
• Offensively, Nathan Lukes (2 runs scored, including solo HR), George Spinger (3 runs scored, including solo HR), Kazuma Okamoto (3 RBI, including solo HR) and Vlad (RBI, run scored) led the way
• The Mariners were 1-1 on ABS challenges. The Blue Jays didn't attempt an ABS challenge
• The Blue Jays were 5-11 with runners in scoring position
• In terms of the wild card race, the Blue Jaus are 2.5 games back of the Guardians, who lost tonight, for the 3rd WC spot. The Rangers (lost tonight) are 2 games back of the 3rd WC spot, the Orioles (leading the A's at the moment) are 2.5 games back of the 3rd WC spot, but will be 2 games back of the 3rd WC spot if they hang on to win tonight. The Twins (lost tonight) are 4 games back of the final WC spot, the Mariners fell to 5 games back of the final WC spot and the free falling Tigers are 5.5 games back of the 3rd WC spot.
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to make it 2 straight wins (and guarantee a season series splut) and notch their 19th series win of the season. Jose Soriano starts against Mariners lefty Kade Anderson

Game #136 Seattle Mariners (64-70) v. Toronto Blue Jays (65-70) AppleTV+ Exclusive

 

Game #135 - Kansas City Royals (60-75) @ Toronto Blue Jays (65-70) - game recap

 

George Springer hit a 2-run HR as the Blue Jays were pummeled 13-2 by the Royals

After a win thanks to a great bullpen day effort and a 3-run HR off the bat of Nathan Lukes, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the win streak to 2 games and notch their 19th series win of the season. Michael Lorenzen was claimed off waivers from the Rockies. Jonatan Clase was transferred to the 60-day IL and Chad Dallas was optioned to AAA-ball. Spencer Arrighetti got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Daz Cameron was in LF and Myles Straw was in CF. Ernie Clement was at SS and Charles McAdoo got the start at 2B. Could the Blue Jays make it 2 straight wins and notch their 19th series win of the season? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Royals opened the scoring in the top of the 1st as Carter Jensen hammered a solo bomb to the 3rd deck in right
• Four batters later, Bobby Witt Jr. scored on a fielder's choice hit by Salvaador Perez
• The Royals added a pair of runs in the top of the 2nd as Jac Caglianone singled scoring Witt Jr. and  Josh Rojas
• Spencer Arrighetti pitching line: 4IP 5H 4R (3 earned) 2BB 4K 79 pitches (49 for strikes)
• The Royals added a run in the top of the 6th as Kyle Isbel doubled scoring Rojas
• Two batters later, Witt Jr. doubled home Isbel
• A batter later, Caglianone singled scoring Witt Jr. and Jensen
• A batter after that, Vinnie Pasquantino whacked a solo blast to righ, also scoring Caglianone
• The Blue Jays got a pair back in the bottom half of the inning as George Springer hammered a 2-run bomb to desd center; also scoring  Alejandro Kirk 
• Noah Cameron pitching line: 6IP 6H 2R (both earned) 2BB 3K 81 pitches (55 for strikes)
• The Royals added a run in the top of the 8th as Pasquantino singled scoring Caglianone
• The Roysls added a pair of runs in the top of the 9th as Caglianone drilled a 2-run jack to the 2nd deck in right; also scoring Tyler Tolbert
• Final score: Royals 13 Blue Jays 2

My Take:

• Spencer Arrighetti batlled through 4 innings, giving up 4 runs (3 earned thanks to a fielding error committed by him) on 6 hits while walking 2 and striking out 4. The Blue Jays needed more out of him after another bullpen game yesterday. He's going to be a work in progress
• The rest of the bullpen gave up 9 runs on 11 hits while walking 4 and striking out 5 over the last five innings. None of the pitchers were particularly effective today.
• Offensively, George Springer broke the shutout bid with a 2-run HR in thhe 6th inning. Good that the home run jacket wasn't used given the score.
• The Blue Jays were successful on both their ABS challenges and the Royals didn't use an ABS challenge
• The Blue Jays were 1-6 with runners in scoring position
• It was a missed opportunity to gain ground in the WC race. The Blue Jays are now 3.5 games back of the Guardians for the 3rd WC spot. The Orioles (also lost today) are 3 games back of the 3rd WC spot. The remaining teams in the WC hunt were idle today. The Rangers are 2 games back of the 3rd WC spot, the Tigers and Mariners are 4 games back of the 3rd WC spot and the Tigers are 5.5 games back of the 3rd WC spot
• Up next, a huge series against the Mariners, who took the series in Seattle 4th of July long weekend, outscoring the Blue Jays 15-2. Ace Dylan Cease starts for the Blue Jays. The Mariners haven't set their rotation for the series yet.

Game #135 Kansas City Royals (59-75) v. Toronto Blue Jays (65-69)

Game #134 - Kansas City Royals (59-75) @ Toronto Blue Jays (65-69) - game recap

 

Nathan Lukes hit a 3-run HR to lift the Blue Jays to a 3-0 shutout win over the Royals

After dropping yesterday's game due to a lste game rally falling short, the Blue Jays were looking to even the series and avoid their 21st series loss of the season. It was another bullpen day with Spencer Miles starting with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. Jesus Sanchez got the start in LF. George Springer was back in the lineup as DH after a day off yesterday. Could the Blue Jays even the series and avoid their 21st series loss of the season? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• Spencer Miles pitching line: 2IP 2H 0R 0BB 1K 33 pitches (20 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the bottom of the 4th as Nathan Lukes belted a 3-run jack to right-center; also scoring Jesus Sanchez and Kazuma Okamoto
• Randy Dobnak pitching line: 6IP 6H 3R (all earned) 1BB 5K 92 pitches (56 for strikes)
• Louis Varland got the last 4 outs for his 30th save of the season
• Final score: Blue Jays 3 Royals 0

My Take: 

• It was bullpen day for the upteenth time with Spencer Miles as the opener. It is unprecedented the amount of injuries the Blue Jays have suffered in 2026. However, the injuries have also created opportunities for some of the prospects like Spencer Miles to break into the majors and Miles has done a great job, largely playing a role as a multi-inning guy, but was aldo stretched out to be a starter when the injury woes/suboptimal performances from Eric Lauer were at their peak. Tonight, Miles pitched the first 2 innings, giving up 2 hits, walking none and striking out 1. The Blue Jays need to address the lsck of pitching depth in the rotation, both in the off-season (acquiring 2 or 3 starters who have the ability to throw 5 or 6 innings on a consistent basis via free agency and the trade market) and in spring training (building up at minimum 6 and ideally 7 or 8 to offset any injuries and/or performance woes.
• The rest of the bullpen threw 7 shutout innings, giving up 4 hits, walking 2 and striking out 8. Chad Dallas, Paul Sewald and Mason Fluharty retired every batter they faced. Louis Varland, who had to escape a jam the normally reliable Tyler Rogers got into in the 8th inning for his 30th save of the season. Varland is the first closer since Roberto Osuna in 2017 to record at least 30 saves. Duane Ward has the single season Blue Jays record with 45 saves in 1993. Ward is the only Blue Jays closer with at least 40 saves.
• Nathan Lukes got some redemption after making the final out of the ball game and killing a late game rally by going deep for the only 3 runs of the game. Jesus Sanchez had a multi-hit game. I'm not convinced this offense can do enough to give the Blue Jays enough wins to make the playoffs. The Blue Jays really need Vlad's bat to catch fire.
• Alejandro Kirk was 1-2 on ABS challenges and the Royals were unsuccessful in their only ABS challenge
• The Blue Jays were 1-5 with runners in scoring position
• In terms of the wild card race, the Blue Jays are 3 games back of the Guardians, who won earlier today for the 3rd WC spot. The Rangers are 1.5 games back oFthe Guardians for the 3rd WC spot, but they are looking like they will be 2 games back with the White Sox ahead by six runs and the Guardians down to their last 3 AB's with the game in the bottom of the 8th. The Orioles are 3 games back for the moment and will gain a half game if the score, that has the Orioles leading the Cardinals by a run in the bottom of the 9th holds. The Tigers are pretty much out of the race and sit 5.5 games back of the 3rd and final WC spot after a shutout loss to the Rays earlier today. The Mariners are 4 games back of the 3rd WC spot after a shutout loss to the Phillies. Finally,  the Twins lost as well and are 3.5 games back of the 3rd WC race.
• A shoutout to the Little League team from Little Mountain in East Vancouver, who repped Canada at the Little League World Series and kicked some butt, beating a heavily favored South Korea. They were knocked out of the tournanent by the formidable team from Japan. There have been some fine basebaall players who were born in BC, led by Larry Walkers. BCers who played for the Blue Jays include Jeff Francis, Michael Saunders, and Brett Lawrie. Who knows, maybe some of the kids from this little league squad will play in the majors or at least get drafted.
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to extend the win streak to 2 games and notch their 19th series win of the season. Spencer Arrighetti starts against Royals lefty Noah Cameron