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 still 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 game in a tightly packed American League wild-card race. They fall to 73-75 while letting the visiting Orioles creep a little closer at 72-76 and fall 2.0 games behind the Guardians, who won.
As starter Max Scherzer said afterwards: “We can't lose our way into the playoffs. We have to win our way into the playoffs.”
The emotions were front and centre in this one, with former Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt starting opposite Scherzer, his close friend. It was Bassitt’s first time pitching 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.
“Mentally, you have to be pretty strong and pretty locked into what you're doing,” manager John Schneider said. “And I thought he did a good job of navigating that.”
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.
All told, the 27-year-old went one for four with a walk, two strikeouts and all kinds of reaction from the crowd. From Schneider’s perspective, it’s important for his players to stay focused on the task at hand and trust that their work will pay off.
“It's tough to hear (boos) and then to hear 40,000 chanting your name,” he said. “When you have a process that you can stick to no matter what the outcome is, I think that's important. It's something he's working on, and something I thought he handled pretty well tonight, but he gets a lot of fan reaction, good and bad, and that comes with being him.”
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.
In that context, Bassitt's five innings of two-run ball were vitally important for the Orioles. He allowed little damage aside from Kazuma Okamoto’s 31st home run of the season, one of two extra-base hits for the third baseman.
When Scherzer allowed six consecutive hits to open the second inning, it was apparent the Blue Jays were in trouble. All told, the right-hander allowed six earned runs in five innings while striking out three.
“I felt like I executed,” Scherzer said. “That's where I just have to tip my hat. They got base hits on pitches that I put in locations that I'm comfortable with. It’s frustrating. That's baseball. I'm not going to cry about it.”
Those early runs made the game rather one-sided until Brett Bateman hit his first career home run with two outs in the ninth inning.
To be fair, this might feel worse than it is right now. After Friday, the Blue Jays now have 2.0 games to make up over their final 14 games. Not easy, but possible.
This Blue Jays team has already overcome adversity a few times this season, so one more hot streak is absolutely within their grasp. The difference this time is that there’s barely any room for second chances.
If they’re going to rewrite the story of their season once more, it has to happen immediately.
“Everything is high stakes,” Schneider said. “It's not going to be easy, but I think how you handle it is you continue to find ways to put your best foot forward and put guys in position to succeed. That's it, really.”
1:40
5:46
0:52