After yet another rocky finish, Toronto Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman has now blown as many games as he's saved in August.
Hoffman entered in the top of the ninth in a 1-1 tie with the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday and allowed back-to-back home runs to the first two hitters he faced.
Jackson Chourio belted an outside slider over the right-field wall, Christian Yelich tagged a first-pitch fastball out to left and Hoffman allowed another run on a Sal Frelick walk and Isaac Collins double before being removed from the game to a chorus of boos from a sold-out crowd of 41,424 at Rogers Centre.
"Honestly, just want to be better," said Hoffman after the game. "Whenever you give up a lead, or it's a tie game and you give up that go-ahead run or whatever, it obviously doesn't feel good.
"We've got a lot of guys that are trying real hard in there and you don't want to be the guy that ruins it for everybody for the night. Tomorrow's a new day."
With the win, the Brewers improved their MLB-best record to 84-52. Toronto started the three-game series atop the American League, but has now fallen into second after the Detroit Tigers' 5-3 win over Kansas City on Friday. The Blue Jays hold a 2.5-game lead over both the Astros and Yankees for a Division Series bye and first in the AL East, respectively.
This wasn't the first time that Hoffman walked off the mound to a crowd voicing its displeasure. The 2024 all-star was also loudly booed after allowing a pair of home runs in a ninth-inning implosion against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.
Yet Hoffman took the ire of the Toronto fans in stride.
"Everybody here's trying to win. Everybody wants to win," said Hoffman. "That's a Blue Jays fan, so, I mean, it's understandable.
"That's what happens when you're on a good team: People expect you to win every night and that's good that they're booing. I like that."
The six-foot-five right-hander has now blown eight saves this season and is tied for the major league lead in home runs allowed by a relief pitcher with 14. He has a 5.11 ERA with 29 saves, 75 strikeouts and 20 walks over 56.1 innings. He has blown four games and saved four in August, allowing eight earned runs over 11 innings.
"The only numbers I look at are the ones that I've blown. I don't really care about how many games that I've won or saved or whatever," Hoffman said. "The one that I always look at are the losses, are the blown saves.
"Obviously, we need to do a better job of just coming in and doing my job and pounding the zone and doing it with good stuff."
Kevin Gausman had a quality start for Toronto after he struck out eight, allowing just one run on four hits over seven innings. He defended Hoffman's ninth-inning performance, noting that Chourio and Yelich both connected on tough pitches.
"If you know anything about baseball, it's more impressive about the two pitches that were hit for home runs," said Gausman. "A slider off the plate, hit the opposite way. Next pitch is a fastball down and away, hit the opposite way.
"Sometimes you've just got to tip your cap (to the other team). It's unfortunate that, obviously, it happened in a big spot, but (Hoffman) is a professional, and we have all the confidence in the world in him."
Blue Jays manager John Schneider, who has come to Hoffman's defence more than once this season, did so again on Saturday.
"We're in the business of trying to win, right? You have to be aware of what's happening in real time, for sure," said Schneider. "You're expecting the normal version of the guy to come out of the 'pen. Hoff's got 29 saves. He's shown that he can do it.
"We've got to figure out, not just him, but multiple guys in the 'pen, in terms of strike throwing, in terms of locating, but again, we're going to try to make the best decision for everyone, to try to win every single night."
— With files from the Canadian Press
