Jesus Sanchez turned a tight game into an 8-1 blowout, launching a grand slam off Sandy Alcantara and sending the Blue Jays to their fourth straight win in Spencer Miles’ recent outings. Toronto’s offense also got home runs from Ernie Clement and Yohendrick Pi
TORONTO — The Blue Jays had just one breath of air in a 2-1 game, clinging to a lead after five innings. Then Sandy Alcantara stepped onto the mound for the Marlins, and the night changed in a flash.
In the bottom of the sixth, Jesus Sanchez took a 99-m.p.h. fastball and sent it over the right-field wall for a grand slam. Alcantara’s next pitch didn’t reset the momentum—it swung it harder in Toronto’s favor when he hit Kazuma Okamoto in the hip.
It was the fourth time Alcantara had hit a batter in his last two innings. a streak that naturally raises suspicion. The Marlins also had their own mitigating detail: all four hit batters came on off-speed pitches. and Alcantara looked to Okamoto as he left the field. patting his chest as if to say “that’s on me. my bad.”.
Even with intent and context, the damage was already done. The swing that mattered most was Sanchez’s, and it carried the Blue Jays to an 8-1 win as they improved to 26-29 on the season.
Toronto didn’t wait long to get going. Ernie Clement opened the scoring with a solo homer in the second, and Yohendrick Piñango bounced back from a difficult game on Monday by launching a solo homer to lead off the eventful sixth inning.
The offensive explosion also came with a reminder that some of the Blue Jays’ “give” still comes with “take. ” particularly around Piñango. Manager John Schneider pointed to defensive struggles evidenced by two plays on Monday that should have been outs but instead turned into costly hits. Before Tuesday’s game. Blue Jays outfield coach Mark Budzinski worked extensively with Piñango. emphasizing that Piñango can call off infielders on any ball he can reach.
“It’s just having intent to go catch it as opposed to waiting for someone else to call it,” Schneider said. “A learning moment for sure and he’s working on it every day.”
On the mound, Spencer Miles did exactly what a team needs when its offense is about to flip the switch. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits over 4.1 innings, lowering his season ERA to 2.16. His fastball averaged 95.3 m.p.h., he struck out three batters and walked only one.
There was more to the night than the line score. For the fourth time this season, Miles handled pitching bulk innings, matching his season high in innings and pushing into new territory with 66 pitches. That workload sets him up for his next turn on Sunday in Baltimore.
The ask is steep for a pitcher who had barely pitched professionally before this season, but Miles has met it. The Blue Jays have won each of his last three appearances.
Braydon Fisher got things started as the opener, delivering a scoreless first inning. It was Fisher’s 28th appearance of the season, tying teammate Mason Fluharty for the American League lead, and lowering his 2026 ERA to 2.64.
With the blowout win secured, the focus now shifts to Wednesday, when the Blue Jays are set to turn to Kevin Gausman in the hope of finishing the series with a win.
Blue Jays Marlins Jesus Sanchez Sandy Alcantara Spencer Miles Kazuma Okamoto Ernie Clement Yohendrick Piñango John Schneider Mark Budzinski Braydon Fisher Kevin Gausman AL standings