A late rally fell short as Toronto dropped a 5-4 decision to the Yankees, leaving the Blue Jays tied for their worst record at 21-27. Despite stretches of quality at-bats and Daulton Varsho’s hot form, key chances in the first, seventh, and late ninth again sl
NEW YORK — The kind of inning the Blue Jays kept finding in 2025 showed up again, right when they needed it. In the fourth, Toronto pressed Will Warren and loaded the damage with three runs built on four singles, a walk and a sacrifice bunt.
But once it mattered, the game wouldn’t let them turn momentum into separation. They plated one in the ninth on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s sacrifice fly, then pushed again when an Andres Gimenez walk and a pinch-hit single by Ernie Clement put runners on and set up a final chance.
Springer recorded the first out after lining a ball off Camillo Doval’s glove, and Guerrero’s sacrifice fly had already erased some of the distance. Varsho’s infield single put runners on the corners again for Kazuma Okamoto — and Okamoto grounded out to short to end it.
A seventh night of nearly had become the story. For the second straight game, the Blue Jays left the tying and go-ahead runs on.
“We’re not the same team we were last year,” Daulton Varsho said. “We have to find a different identity than what we were because obviously there are different guys in the clubhouse. different lineup. So understanding who we are now, we have to get that identity to come out. I thought (Monday in a 7-6 loss to the Yankees) and the Detroit series were really good for us. where it’s like. OK. we’re getting to an identity. We don’t really know exactly what that is yet, but we’re starting to have really good team at-bats.”.
Tuesday’s 5-4 loss continued the problem Toronto can’t shake: their at-bats fight hard, the base runners show up, but the extra punch doesn’t always follow through at the exact moments the game opens up.
They didn’t add on in the fourth despite runners on the corners and one out. They also came up empty in the first and then failed to punch through with men on the corners and two outs in the seventh.
Manager John Schneider summed up the frustration without dressing it up.
“What we’re all talking about is if it’s not going to be continuous hits or productive ABs and adding on. there needs to be some slug. there needs to be some extra-base hits or a home run with guys on. So it’s figuring that part out. That’s kind of where we are,” Schneider said. “I never question the guys’ effort and their prep. kind of just seems like we’re kind of stuck in the middle there where you can either get a little separation or add on in a different way. But when you get all singles, it’s tough to make that sustainable, for sure.”.
The Yankees, meanwhile, knew how to turn their big swings into a lead. Ryan McMahon delivered a three-run shot in the fourth to tie the game 3-3, and Ben Rice followed with a decisive two-run drive in the fifth.
The edge Cease didn’t have to give also arrived in the form of walks. Dylan Cease delivered a strong baseline — four hits and nine strikeouts — but three of his four walks scored on the homers.
“I shot myself in the foot with those (walks) and they put some good swings on some balls,” Cease said. “I didn’t mind the location on a 2-0 fastball up and in to Rice, but noted that ‘when you’re falling behind like that, it’s playing a dangerous game.’”
For Toronto, the cost was immediate in the standings. A second straight setback dropped the Blue Jays back to a season-worst-tying six games below .500 at 21-27.
And the schedule doesn’t slow down. The remaining two games at Yankee Stadium are next. Trey Yesavage starts against Cam Schlittler on Wednesday, with Schlittler carrying a 1.35 ERA. On Thursday, Spencer Miles will either start or pitch behind an opener against Carlos Rodon.
Even in a loss, Toronto’s offense had bright spots. Varsho led the group with a career-best four hits, and he scored the Blue Jays’ first run in the third on Yohendrick Pinango’s RBI single.
Over the past 10 games, Varsho has been especially sharp, going 16-for-39 (.410) with a homer and six RBIs.
Schneider moved him into the No. 3 spot on Tuesday, behind George Springer and Guerrero, in the continuing search for “the right set of pockets” across the lineup.
Over the next couple of weeks, that process could gain clarity if Nathan Lukes, Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk return from injury — a prospect Toronto is watching closely because a stable lineup makes it easier to find rhythm and roles.
For now, Schneider’s attention stays on what’s missing and what has to be adjusted. “The best way to put it is. OK. who’s playing the part of so and so that’s not here. and how do you have to attack that spot. ” he said. “Right now. trying to get Vlad going and trying to get George going and try to get them up as much as we can.”.
That’s why the ninth inning at-bats mattered so much, even when they didn’t end in the punchline.
For the second straight game, the late chances came after grinding plate appearances by the bottom of the order. An Andres Gimenez walk and a pinch-hit single by Ernie Clement set up the final sequence. Clement didn’t start due to strep throat.
Schneider’s message after the final out was blunt: every run is precious when the margin is thin.
“Need a hit,” Schneider said. “With where we are right now. or just in general. you want to keep adding on. whether it’s a bunt. whether it is a hit. whether it’s a sac fly. whatever it is. Every run is precious. Had a chance to keep going there, didn’t, and then the guys are grinding to the end. It was eerily similar (to Monday). same guys coming up and things like that. seems like we’re kind of just one hit away or one play away right now.”.
Varsho has tried to get himself — and the offense — out of some mental friction at the plate. He said simplifying his approach has helped, after feeling he’d been too focused on how teams intended to attack him, locked into a set plan.
“There are certain teams. certain guys that locate to a certain spot so you have to clear them out of a certain spot. ” Varsho said. “But more than likely pitchers are going to make mistakes and it’s just trying not to miss that mistake. And so when I was trying to hunt for that certain spot and I got a pitch that I should hammer. I was missing it and that’s what was making me frustrated. So overall, just trying to not think so much and just go be reactionary.”.
That same idea — fighting through, staying alive in the box — is what has kept Toronto believing Monday’s 7-6 loss wasn’t only heartbreak. Even a failed comeback can still be a signal.
Varsho pointed to it after Tuesday’s game.
“We’re just getting down on ourselves a lot lately and I think (Monday) was a great game for us even though we lost. it just showed the fight that we had and doing what we’ve done in the past that really works. ” he said. “Now it’s just trying to do that consistently. Fighting every at-bat. having a good team at-bat and not trying to be the guy trying to hit the home run.”.
In the end, the Blue Jays’ problem isn’t effort. It’s that the game keeps ending right before the extra-base swing — or the hit with runners on — turns their late pressure into a result that changes the week.
“We’re starting to have really good team at-bats,” Varsho said earlier. On Tuesday night, they did it again. The difference is that once more, the breakthrough didn’t arrive.
In New York, the streets can make you feel brand new. For the Blue Jays, the work is still to become the team they’re searching for.
Toronto Blue Jays New York Yankees Daulton Varsho Vladimir Guerrero Jr. John Schneider Dylan Cease Ryan McMahon Ben Rice Cam Schlittler Trey Yesavage Spencer Miles Carlos Rodon