When the Blue Jays returned home earlier this week, after officially clinching a spot in the post-season, most of the players on the team were wearing T-shirts with “Underdogs” emblazoned across the front.
The slogan, which included the phrase “Canada vs. The World,” was an unusual choice. The Jays, after all, had the best record in the American League and appeared to be days away from clinching a division title. This was one of the rare moments in franchise history when they were the favourites.
Perhaps the Jays knew something we didn’t because it would only be a few days before that perception changed. After back-to-back series losses to the Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals, the Jays are trending toward becoming underdogs and they only have themselves to blame.
The Jays’ 7-1 loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday night, combined with the New York Yankees’ 8-1 win over the Chicago White Sox, means their lead in the division has completely disappeared. With four games left, both teams have 90 wins, and the only positive is that the Jays still control their fate because they own the tiebreaker.
The Jays had a four-game lead in the AL East with the Yankees seven days ago, but New York has
“We have to score more offence,” Jays manager John Schneider said. “If the season ended right now, we win the division. I know things look bleak, and it has been a rough week for us, but there’s going to be a game tomorrow and we have to figure out ways to score.”
In the spring, everyone inside the organization would have signed up for an opportunity to win the division with four games left. The Jays were an afterthought then, if for no other reason than they were coming off a last-place finish with an expectation, even within their own fan base, that little would change in 2025.
A lot changed. The Jays caught fire in late May and turned into one of the best teams in Major League Baseball for a few months. Their lead atop the division soared to 6 1/2 games by late July. It was still five last week.
Now, everything appears to be on the verge of falling apart. The Jays have lost six of their last seven games to fall even with the Yankees. A bye through next week’s wild-card round is no longer a sure thing, which increases the likelihood of starting the post-season without injured shortstop Bo Bichette.Ìý
“It feels like the sky is falling right now, and it’s f—-ing not,” said Schneider, who seemed to be sending a message to his own team just as much as he was to the media. “We have 90 wins, we’re in the playoffs and, like I said if the season ended today we’re winning the AL East. I want them to come out and not press. I want them to come out play fast, play loose. When we do that we’re really good.”
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Wednesday’s game was over almost as soon as it started. Veteran Max Scherzer struck out the first batter he faced and then gave up four consecutive hits. Masataka Yoshida drove in the first run on an RBI double and Romy Gonzalez followed with a two-run single to put the Red Sox up 3-0.
First innings have caused a lot of problems for Scherzer this season, especially lately. He allowed seven runs and recorded just two outsÌýin his previous outing against Kansas City, and has allowed at least two runs in each of his last five first innings. His season ERA during the opening frame is 12.96.
“Baseball’s a funny game,” Scherzer said. “There are times when you can be on top of the world and then there are times when you can be on the bottom of it. I get it, tonight it feels like we’re at the bottom, but baseball can flip in a heartbeat. Things can change overnight for no apparent reason. When you look in the mirror, you just need to know who you are and how you play this game.”
The recent struggles might have pushed Scherzer out of consideration for a post-season start, but the Jays’ lineup has become just as big of a problem. The Jays, who maintained a top-five offence for most of the year, have been held to two or fewer runs in seven of their last nine games.
The pent-up frustration boiled over in the bottom of the seventh.ÌýVladimir Guerrero Jr. struck out on a fastball that just clipped the inside corner and was promptly ejected after arguing with home-plate umpire Gabe Morales. Soon after, hitting coach David Popkins was tossed as well.Ìý
Apple TV+ has exclusive broadcast rights to stream the game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet was the latest pitcher who made the Jays look overmatched. Crochet, the expected Game 1 starter for Boston in a wild-card series, allowed just three hits while striking out five across eight scoreless innings in what could become a post-season preview.
“We haven’t been playing like we were playing, we haven’t been hitting like we were hitting,” Guerrero said through a translator. “We just have to get back to where we were and start winning games.”
If the Jays keep talking about how there’s no reason to panic, they might start actually to believe it. But until this team proves it on the field, the level of skepticism will only continue to grow.
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