The Blue Jays finally got back in the win column, and Max Scherzer gave them exactly the kind of start that settles everything down.
Toronto beat the Tigers 5-1, with Scherzer working five innings and allowing just one run. Detroit scratched that run across in the first on a double - “well, a pop-up that no one got under” - and a single, but Scherzer barely budged after that.
He gave up only one more hit the rest of the way and added three strikeouts to his all-time total, which now sits at 9543, 11 short of Jason Verlander. Whether he can reach that mark before the season ends is another question.
The Jays’ offense was quiet early, then flipped the game in the fourth. Kazuma Okamoto opened the inning with a walk, Josh Smith followed with a double, and that set up runners on second and third. Ernie Clement brought home the tying run with a sacrifice fly, and Myles Straw lined a hard single to left to score the go-ahead run.
Straw was caught stealing after that with two outs, which wasn’t necessarily a bad gamble. That left Brett Bateman with a fresh count to begin the next inning. Bateman has been hot, though, and the catcher had been throwing out runners all game, so there was at least a case for letting him swing away.
Toronto added another in the fourth anyway. Bateman singled, Nathan Lukes bunted him to second and beat it out, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded out to move the runners to the corners, and George Springer singled Bateman home.
The Tigers helped Toronto pad the lead in the fifth, and not in a subtle way. A string of errors led to two more Blue Jays runs, including two straight miscues by shortstop John Peck - one on a booted ball and another on the throw. Nathan Lukes picked up an RBI in the frame.
Toronto finished with nine hits, but only one for extra bases, Smith’s double. Bateman, hitting near the top of the order, and Straw, batting at the bottom, each had two hits.
The bullpen handled the rest. Mason Fluharty got through the sixth quickly.
Spencer Miles followed with two fast innings, then went back out for the ninth and ran into some trouble, allowing a single and a walk. He was only trying to give Louis Varland a save chance.
Varland closed it out with a strikeout, a lineout, and another strikeout. Brandon Valenzuela helped him get one of those outs by challenging a full-count pitch ruled a ball, though it was just nicking the upper outside corner.
There was also some drama around the challenge system earlier in the game. Valenzuela used a challenge in the first inning on a 1-1 pitch, and that came back into the picture later when Springer wanted to challenge a pitch of his own but backed off quickly, worried about burning the team’s last challenge. After striking out, he checked the pitch on an iPad and was upset that he hadn’t challenged it.
In the end, it was a win the Jays needed - or at least one the writer needed.
Other Award: No one.
In Other News...
Former Blue Jays Pitchers Death Brings A Somber Update For Fans
Brian Wolfes baseball life took him from a 1999 draft pick by the Twins to the Blue Jays, where he broke into the majors in 2007 and spent three seasons in Toronto before extending his career in Japan. For Blue Jays fans who remember that era, Wolfe was part of a roster that bridged different stages of the clubs recent history, and his path through the game reflected the long, winding route so many pitchers take to stay in it.
Wolfe died on September 15 at age 45, with his wife announcing the news on social media and former teammate Brandon Barnes later confirming it in a video. The loss lands with the kind of quiet weight that often follows a former player long after his final outing, especially for fans who tracked him from the big leagues to his years overseas and now have one more reminder of how quickly those memories become part of team history. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Bullpen Plan Fell Apart Fast And Fans Know Why
The Tigers came into the night with Michael Lorenzen lined up to handle the bulk of the work, but the plan unraveled almost immediately against the Blue Jays. Toronto knocked him around early, forcing Detroit to lean on its bullpen for extra innings in a game that quickly tilted out of reach, while the Blue Jays kept extending the pressure and never let up.
Torontos offense did enough to make the mismatch obvious, and the 10-1 final reflected how little the Tigers had to answer with at the plate. Detroit managed only six singles and one run, while Ernie Clement added a sharp defensive play at second base to help keep the Blue Jays in control of a game that never really felt close after the early blow. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Already Have A Big Kazuma Okamoto Question
Kazuma Okamoto arrived with the kind of profile that makes a winter signing feel bigger than a transaction, and his first season has already given the Blue Jays a little bit of everything. The power is real, and the rookie home run record he set for the franchise has shown why Toronto was willing to commit four years and $60 million after he was posted following the 2025 season.
The question now is what the Blue Jays are getting beyond the home run totals. Okamoto has also dealt with strikeouts and uneven work at third base, and the shape of his season has been as streaky as it is promising, with productive bursts followed by long cold stretches. For a team that expected a middle-of-the-order answer, the next step is figuring out whether the best version of Okamoto is the one that shows up often enough to anchor a lineup, or just in flashes. [Read more 🡒]