Blue Jays – An eighth-inning miscue helped the Astros turn a close game into a 3-1 win at Rogers Centre on Wednesday. Joey Loperfido’s triple scored the difference after Jeff Hoffman’s ill-advised pickoff attempt went past Kazuma Okamoto, and Toronto dropped to 39-41 as t
TORONTO — The Blue Jays had the kind of game you circle after it’s over: close, winnable, and within reach until late.
Then came the eighth inning, and it flipped the way it did for Toronto the second night in a row. Joey Loperfido jogged home when a triple evaded Daulton Varsho and rolled into foul territory along the left-field line at Rogers Centre. turning pressure into a swing of momentum. One batter later. Jeff Hoffman tried to make a play on the base with a pickoff attempt that Kazuma Okamoto didn’t anticipate. The baseball went past Okamoto and into the wrong direction — a costly moment that helped seal Houston’s 3-1 victory.
By the time Toronto was done absorbing it all, the damage was already permanent in the standings. The Blue Jays fell to 39-41 on the season and dropped the series to the Astros.
“It’s frustrating when you feel like you leave a couple wins on the table against an American League team,” Schneider said. “That’s baseball sometimes, but there’s definitely some areas where you can get a little bit tighter.”
Schneider put the blame for the key sequence where it belonged: on miscommunication. Okamoto expected the throw to come from catcher Alejandro Kirk, while Hoffman was counting on Okamoto to break for the base.
“I think with Kaz not covering, it kind of threw Jeff off a little bit,” Schneider said. “So just miscommunication with Kaz, really.”
What hurt even more for Toronto wasn’t just how it unfolded. but the question of whether it should’ve happened at all. Keeping Loperfido close was understandable. but the Blue Jays weren’t exactly dealing with a proven weakness in Houston’s game plan. Hoffman’s handling of runners wasn’t flagged as an obvious liability. and Toronto had already acknowledged at multiple points this season that holding runners wasn’t something they were typically losing control of.
Next time, Schneider’s thought process sounded simple: a couple quick steps toward the bag by Okamoto would have provided comparable safety with far less risk.
As Trey Yesavage put it after the loss: “Just gotta do the little things right.”
Offensively, the Blue Jays couldn’t consistently cash in on what they were getting. They managed just one run on four hits against starter Mike Burrows and the Houston bullpen. The lone run came from a Nathan Lukes solo home run in the bottom of the first.
After that, the lineup went quiet. George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. both went hitless. Toronto did get a chance to tie the game late, but Luis Urias was doubled off second on a Springer fly ball, ending the threat.
“We made a lot of contact, but not a whole lot of quality contact. So, you know, you give credit there, but I think you got to kind of grind a little bit more in those middle innings.”
The night offered a sharp contrast on the mound as well. Entering Wednesday, no qualified big-league starter had a higher ERA than Burrows at 5.79. Yet Toronto produced just one run against the right-hander.
For Yesavage, the challenge came with command issues that have appeared at times this season. He kept things tight early. facing the Astros for the first time in his career and completing 5.2 innings of one-run ball. Houston mustered only two hits against him. but he walked five. forcing him to navigate trouble every inning except the second.
“It was all right,” Yesavage said. “Just a lot of two-out out walks, which kind of killed me, but it was all right.”
There were bright spots in his repertoire, too. From a stuff standpoint, Yesavage leaned on his slider more than any other pitch Wednesday and delivered 13 total swinging strikes. He finished with five strikeouts.
Still, this game didn’t erase a pattern Toronto has to address. This marked the third time Yesavage has walked five or more in his last five starts. Schneider acknowledged exactly what it costs: it inflates pitch count and keeps the stress level high even when the stuff is there.
“Just elevated pitch count,” Schneider said. “He made big pitches when he had to, but I thought his stuff was good … love the fact that he went out in the sixth, and gave us some extra outs, but I think the walks are always going to get you.”
Yesavage threw a career-high 105 pitches before giving way to Tommy Nance with two outs in the sixth.
“I was hoping they’d send me back out,” Yesavage said. “It felt good. I feel good now, and hope we can do it again.”
Now, the Blue Jays turn the page quickly. Next up, the 38-42 Rangers visit Toronto for four games, and Toronto’s season-long push to climb above .500 continues.
“There’s some things to learn from and things to tighten up a little bit in all phases of the game,” Schneider said. “You want to generate some more offence against a starter, and if you don’t, then things have to be a little bit tighter.”
Blue Jays Astros Joey Loperfido Jeff Hoffman Kazuma Okamoto Rogers Centre Trey Yesavage Daulton Varsho Alejandro Kirk Mike Burrows Nathan Lukes Vladimir Guerrero Jr. George Springer Luis Urias Tommy Nance Rangers