As the Cubs and Blue Jays meet in a series preview, the spotlight sits on Toronto’s uneven hitting with runners in scoring position and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s deep slump. Pitching has been steady for much of the season, with Louis Varland emerging in the clos
The Blue Jays don’t look broken. They look stuck in neutral.
Toronto can put the ball in play and generate hits—but the swings change when there are runners in scoring position. In those spots. the team hits “much as you or I would. ” a brutal way of describing a season that has turned urgency into frustration. Over it all is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. the face of the franchise. who has been in a deep slump and an even deeper power outage.
Earlier in the season, Guerrero Jr. was hitting well without turning those swings into home runs. Now the numbers speak plainly: he has three home runs this season. Three. No typo, no softening the language. Just three.
There’s counterweight to that concern. The starting pitching has been “pretty good,” with one exception that lands like a missed appointment: Max Scherzer. The preview makes clear you’re unlucky enough to miss out on seeing him.
Just as important, Toronto hasn’t lived permanently in bullpen mode. The team has been getting starting pitchers back from the IL, so they haven’t had to go the “bullpen days” two times out of five.
In the late innings, the closer situation has found its shape. Louis Varland has been “amazing in the closer role.” The job shifted after Jeff Hoffman had enough blowups to lose it. Hoffman still carries a standout strikeout rate — 36.1 percent — and an almost teasing home-run profile in the details that follow. The point isn’t that he can’t miss bats; it’s that the home runs seem to arrive at the worst possible moments.
Then there’s the news that lifts the line of sight. Alejandro Kirk and Nathan Lukes are back, and they’re hitting well. For Blue Jays fans trying to hold on to something hopeful, that matters.
A lot of the faith in this matchup is emotional, not statistical. The preview leans on one comparison: the Blue Jays are hanging their hopes on being in about the same spot they were at this time last year—and that it turned out pretty good.
Blue Jays Cubs Vladimir Guerrero Jr RISP hitting Louis Varland Jeff Hoffman Max Scherzer Alejandro Kirk Nathan Lukes pitching IL
So Guerrero only has 3 HR?? That’s wild.
Sounds like they’re just unlucky with runners on base. Like the baseball version of my life, always stuck in neutral. Also did I read Max Scherzer is somehow the “exception”??
I don’t even get why everyone blames Guerrero, if the pitching is “pretty good” then it’s probably the lineup order or something. And “closer role” Louis Varland?? Isn’t that just like… a reliever, not a closer? Idk man, the article kept saying bullpen days like it’s a curse.
If they’re getting Kirk and Lukes back and still can’t hit with runners in scoring position, then it’s not a slump it’s like a chemistry issue. Also the part about Hoffman blowing it sounds like the pitching is fine until it suddenly isn’t… so basically standard baseball lol. I’m calling it now, Cubs gonna score late because Varland won’t be “amazing” forever.