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| Andres Gimenez drove in all 3 Blue Jays runs in a 3-2 comeback win over the Athletics to open the 2026 regular season. |
It's that time again. Time for the openung pitch of the 2026 season. The Blue Jays kick things off against the Athletics, who begin what is expected to be the second-last season in California (the A's are slated to move to Las Vegas beginning in the 2028 season. The Blue Jays won the season series 5-2 over the A's last year, outscoring the A's 52-34. Kevin Gausman got the start with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate. George Springer was in his traditional leadoff spot and served as DH. Nathan Lukes was in LF, Daulton Varsho was in CF and Addison Barger was in RF. Kazuma Okamoto was at the hot corner, Andres Gimenez was at SS, Ernie Clement was at 2B and Vlad was at 1B. Could the Blue Jays start the season with a win? Here is tonight's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The A's opened the scoring in the top of the 4th as Shea Langeliers belted a solo jack to left\
- The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom of the 5th as Andres Gimenez tripled scoring Kazuma Okamoto and Erne Clement
- Luis Severino pitching line: 5IP 3H 2R (both earned) 3BB 3K 84 pitches (52 for strikes)
- Kevin Gausnan pitching line: 6IP 1H 1R (earned) 0BB 11K 83 pitches (60 for strikes)
- The A's tied it up in the top of the 9th as Langeliers hammered a solo bomb to dead center
- The Blue Jays walked it off in the bottom half of the inning as Gimenez singled scoring Okamoto
- Final score: Blue Jays 3 A's 2
My Take:
- Kevin Gausman was spectacular today, firing 6 strong inningsm giving up a hit on a run while walking none and striking out 11. You know Gausman has all his stuff working when he is racking up the strikeouts. He struck out the side in the 1st inning and retired the first 10 batters he faced and the final 8 he faced. Only blemish was a no-doubter by Jays killer Shea Langeliers
- The bullpen was wobbly today and Jeff Hoffman certainly didn't give the Blue Jays fans much confidence in his abilities as a closer, Langeliers took him deep to CF. The good Jeff Hoffman saved 33 games last season (good for 4th in the MLB). However, the bad Jeff Hoffman couldn't keep the ball in the ball park and gave up a league high (among relievers) 15 long balls and blew 7 saves. He's no Trevor Hoffman, but he needs to be able to convert more saves and keep the ball in the ball park. None of the relievers retired every batter they faced.
- Alejandro Kirk made the Blue Jays first ABS challenge and successfully overturned a ball into a strikeout. I expect to see more challenges on days where the weaker umpires are behind the plate, such as CB Buckner.
- Offensively, Andres Gimenez drove in all the runs (2-run triple in the 5th and a walkoff single in the 9th. Japanese import Kazuma Okamoto had a solid regular season debut, drawing a walk, collecting 2 hits and scoring twice. He had 2 putouts defensively
- The Blue Jays were 2-7 with runners in scoring position
- Up next, Dylan Cease makes his first regular start as a Blue Jay. The A's will counter with lefty Jeffrey Springs.
