Nathan Lukes’ two-run, game-tying homer couldn’t carry the Toronto Blue Jays past the Texas Rangers as Toronto dropped a 3-2 decision, extending a painful six-game skid to a season-high. Josh Jung doubled and Jarred Kelenic scored on a wild pitch off the home-
TORONTO — Late on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays felt the grip loosen for a moment.
Nathan Lukes launched a game-tying, two-run homer in the eighth inning, igniting a crowd of 40,898 and dragging Toronto back into the fight it desperately needed. The swing gave the team momentum — and then, minutes later, it tightened again.
In the ninth, closer Louis Varland struck out the first two batters and looked in control. The rhythm broke quickly. Josh Jung doubled. and pinch-runner Jarred Kelenic scored from second on a wild pitch that caromed off the home-plate umpire and toward the visitors’ dugout. Toronto couldn’t counterpunch in the bottom of the inning. and the Blue Jays fell 3-2 to the Texas Rangers in one of those defeats that leaves a lasting sting.
“It’s the last thing you expect,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “We’ve been through those swings before where it’s real high, then real low in a game. But not what you expected, for sure.”
Right-hander Shane Bieber put it more bluntly: “That’s a very rare way to lose the game.”
The loss didn’t just hurt the standings. It confirmed how quickly the Blue Jays can turn a promising sequence into a one-run swing that they can’t recover from. Toronto (39-45) has now lost six straight. matching a season high. and sits 2.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners. who currently hold the third American League wild-card spot.
All six defeats have come in close games — three decided by one run and two by two runs. The numbers frame the problem in a familiar way: Toronto is playing hard enough to stay near the line, but it isn’t delivering the key hits early when games are still young.
Schneider didn’t dodge that point. “Obviously, we’re not getting any offence going early in games,” he said. “That’s well-documented and that’s something we talk about almost daily in terms of what we can control in terms of prep and what we can control in terms of adjusting as the game goes.”
The recent struggles at the plate have been especially difficult to ignore with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Included in Sunday’s snapshot was another quiet day. Guerrero Jr. went hitless in four at-bats, dropping his OPS to .697.
After the loss, Guerrero Jr. wasn’t in the clubhouse, and Schneider said that following Saturday’s game, he spent time with the first baseman taking extra swings in the batting cage.
“I’m not going to bench him,” Schneider said. “I think there’s always a time when a guy needs a little bit of a break. whether it’s physically. mentally. whatever it is. It’s no secret we’re going to need Vlad if we want to be good. He knows that. we know that. so I think my job is to make sure his work is good. his mindset is good. He’s actually good. I always say. you want some players to be good liars to a manager in terms of how they’re feeling. And Vlad’s been an open book with me. I’ve pressed, I’ve asked him a few times in the last couple of weeks and he’s good. I can’t imagine what it is to be Vlad. And the pressure that comes with it, the expectations that come with it.”.
On the mound, the offense’s uphill climb has been matched by the starting rotation getting Toronto behind early — a trend that has shown up in each of the past six games.
Bieber, making his second start since returning from the injured list, helped set the opening tone in a tough way. He surrendered a homer to Joc Pederson on the first pitch of the game. He then loaded the bases. but battled his way out by inducing a force out at home and striking out the batter after.
Bieber allowed some hard contact in the second, then made a mechanical adjustment and settled down over the next three innings. Trouble returned in the sixth.
In total, Bieber allowed two runs on five hits over 5.1 frames, with four walks and strikeouts on 92 pitches.
He sounded satisfied with the rebound even if the scoreboard never fully cooperated. “Obviously. the game didn’t start in an ideal fashion but was able to bounce back and put up some competitive innings. ” Bieber said. “So, I was happy with that. It was definitely some progress and a step in the right direction relative to my first outing.”.
Still, the frustration in the clubhouse is obvious. “We all sense what’s going on. It’s been some tough and emotional losses,” Bieber said. “We’re just going through it a little bit and we’re being tested and I know we’ll respond.”
The response can’t wait long. Monday arrives with a chance to flush the defeat quickly and reset, with Toronto opening a three-game series against Bo Bichette and the free-falling New York Mets.
Schneider ended with the same message he’s been leaning on through this stretch: keep working. keep competing. and trust that improvement will show. “The guys in the clubhouse are going to continue to fight and they’re going to continue to work to get better. and probably every one of them is better than what they’ve been so far. ” he said. “That’s what you cling to, and you got to go out and do it.”.
Toronto Blue Jays Texas Rangers Nathan Lukes Louis Varland Josh Jung Jarred Kelenic Vladimir Guerrero Jr Shane Bieber John Schneider Joc Pederson Bo Bichette New York Mets
They had it and then that wild pitch nonsense… wow.
Not even surprised, Blue Jays always do this thing where they almost come back and then the tiniest play ruins it. Wild pitch off the umpire?? I feel like baseball is just chaos sometimes.
Wait so Lukes hit a homer in the eighth and they still lost 3-2?? That’s messed up. And the closer Varland struck out the first two like it was over and then somehow runs scored from second on a wild pitch to the dugout… like why was the umpire in the way lol. Maybe Bieber should’ve been pitching longer even though it says he’s right-hander??
Sixth straight?? That’s wild. I swear Toronto traded all their clutch hitters or something. Also the article says it was a game-tying homer but then it’s still a loss, so I don’t get it, like the homer didn’t even count? Idk I just hate when they get momentum and then immediately collapse.