Desperate Blue Jays fail to hold ground in wild-card race

TORONTO – The Blue Jays lost for the fourth time in five games Friday, and the loss could reasonably be interpreted in at least a couple different ways.

Emblematic of bigger issues? Probably. Just another bump in the road? That’s possible, too.

Within the Blue Jays’ clubhouse, they have no choice but to think positively and assume it’s the latter. And with 14 games remaining to close a relatively small gap, maybe they’ll be right.

For now, everyone agrees on this much: the 7-4 loss costs the Blue Jays a chance to hold their ground in a tightly packed American League wild card race. Instead, they fall to 73-75 while letting the visiting Orioles creep a little closer at 72-76.

The emotions were front and centre in this one, with former Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt starting opposite his close friend Max Scherzer. It was Bassitt’s first time starting at Rogers Centre since Game 7 of the 2025 World Series, a game started by Scherzer.

This time the Blue Jays were sloppy from the start, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. needlessly getting picked off first base with two on and one out in the bottom of the first. A strong throw from Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo nabbed Guerrero Jr., who’d hear boos on his way back to the dugout.

Those boos returned when he chased a Bassitt curveball to strike out with two runners on in the third inning, and this time they were louder. But along with that frustration, there’s still hope at Rogers Centre that Guerrero Jr. can finish strong.

So before his fifth inning at-bat those boos turned to cheers and “Vladdy” chants echoed through the stadium. Three pitches later, he grounded out to short.

When Guerrero Jr. struck out again two innings later, the boos returned once more. When he hit for the fifth and final time with two outs in the ninth, he tapped an infield single to third and the crowd roared.

As for the pitching matchup, Scherzer might never have signed with the Blue Jays were it not for Bassitt’s help recruiting his former Mets teammate two winters ago.

He had “a really good pulse on what this clubhouse and team needed,” Scherzer recalled last year. And what Bassitt felt the Blue Jays needed was Scherzer – not only his pitching ability but his edge and attention to detail.

As discussions ramped up, Bassitt warned Ross Atkins. This is going to be a headache, Bassitt told the GM. Scherzer questions everything. He wants to understand outfield positioning, pitch selection, workload management. There has to be a reason for everything.

“And so many organizations, I feel like, don't like to answer questions,” Bassitt explained last year. “They like you to be a robot and say ‘Yes, sir’ and go about your business. But that’s not how Max is.”

A year later, Bassitt’s gone and Scherzer’s still here. Where they were fighting towards a common goal in 2025, now only one can pitch in the post-season.