In other seasons after a loss like this, the distinctively long trek from the dugout to the visitor’s clubhouse at Sutter Health Park might have felt like a funeral march for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Tired, banged up and piling up a stack of L’s that should be too unwieldy to manage at this time of year, the Blue Jays are squandering opportunities faster than Norway maple trees are shedding their leaves.
No matter: The rest of the unexceptional postseason contenders are just playing into their hands.
Even with a record of 73-74, the Blue Jays are not dead, not yet, due to the uniquely mediocre results produced by most of the American League. How helpful!
Under the current format in Major League Baseball, the lowest victory total by a full-season postseason qualifier is 84 by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023. Results in the AL this season suggest they’re trying to cram at least two participants into the playoffs with 81 or 82 wins. The spirit of the participation trophy is strong, thank you very much.
So, it matters that the Jays fell 2-0 on Wednesday to the Athletics, ending their road trip with a blah 5-4 record after dropping two of three at the strange ballpark the A’s for now call home in West Sacramento, Calif.
It just doesn’t MATTER. Yet. You might even say (or sing) that everything is “OK, Blue Jays,” because everybody closely relevant to Toronto’s repeat postseason attempt also lost yesterday, except for the wily Baltimore Orioles. The Jays came in lagging one game behind the last AL Wild Card spot, and they went to sleep in the same fetal position. Mostly what they lost is time; the Jays have 15 games left in the regular season. A baker’s fortnight.
The signs for the Jays aren’t great, that’s true, no matter if you read the measurements in Canadian metric or U.S. imperial.
It was a bullpen game for the A’s, their relief corps is mediocre at best, and the Jays could do nothing with left-hander Brady Basso, who is a pitcher and not a childish rhyme for Ted Lasso.
Only one team in the majors has scored fewer runs than the Jays. It’s not all Vladimir Guerrero’s fault but he does draw some glances. Guerrero did manage to hit a ball hard in the air in the eighth inning, and it would have been a home run at Wrigley Field, per MLB Statcast. Not that he’ll ever again need any nuggets like that for salary arbitration. If it seems like the last home run Guerrero hit came in the World Series, it’s not literally true, but almost. He’s got eight this season, in 558 plate appearances.
The Jays used George Springer as a pinch-hitter, and he also hit a loud out, but he walked off the field almost as gingerly as Kirk Gibson that one time.
It’s remarkable they’re still in the thick of the postseason race, given the state of the starting rotation beyond Dylan Cease and Jose Soriano. Jose Berrios, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage — they’re all hurt. Max Scherzer isn’t hurt, but it hurts to watch him struggle.
It’s been clear for months that the Jays aren’t as good as the AL pennant winners of 2025. Eventually a bill for their shortcomings was going to come due. But it might not happen until after the regular season ends, because the other teams with whom they’re jousting are also hurtin’ for certain.
After a day off, the Orioles (71-76) come to Rogers Centre for three games. Any other year and we’d say, “Oh, the O’s need a sweep to stay alive.” Heck, if the O’s sweep they might move into the driver’s seat.
It’s also true that if the Jays simply avoid being swept, they’ll still have everybody else right where they want ’em.
