The Toronto Blue Jays’ run as reigning American League champions is over before October even arrives.
Toronto was officially knocked out of playoff contention Wednesday, taking a 4-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in the opener of a doubleheader. The defeat closed the door on a return to the postseason after the Blue Jays came up short of the World Series last year.
Max Scherzer got the start and was tagged for four earned runs across five innings while striking out seven. The biggest blow came in the fifth, when Pete Alonso launched a two-run homer - his third of the series - off Scherzer.
Toronto did manage to outhit Baltimore 10-5 in the opener, but the bats never cashed in when it mattered. The Blue Jays went just 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position, a rough snapshot of a season that slipped away in too many key moments.
Chris Bassitt, now on the other side, kept his former club in check. He allowed two earned runs over five innings and picked up a win against Toronto for the second time this month, after also beating them on Sept. 11.
The elimination stings even more because Toronto had control of the final AL wild-card spot not long ago. After beating the Kansas City Royals on Sept. 5, the Blue Jays were in position to make another playoff push. Instead, they dropped 10 of their next 15 games and watched the opportunity disappear.
That slide wasted what looked like a promising season on paper. Toronto entered the year with big offseason additions in All-Star Game starter Dylan Cease, Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto and shutdown reliever Tyler Rogers, but the results never matched the expectations.
First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. endured a tough year, one of the least productive of his career, and the pitching staff took hit after hit from injuries to important arms.
After the loss, manager John Schneider didn’t sugarcoat it.
"I think there's missed opportunities from everyone: myself, the staff, everyone. It's not one person that's not here, it's not one person that's still here. It's been some unfortunate breaks, some unfortunate injuries, but at the end of the day, we didn't play as well as we were capable of playing," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said after the loss.
"It's frustrating to get to this point. I think all of us, you take accountability for it, you look yourself in the mirror ... and you say, 'How can we change this going forward?'"
"We didn't play as well as we were capable of playing."
John Schneider on the Blue Jays being officially eliminated from postseason contention. pic.twitter.com/XuXHSYW0BT
- Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 23, 2026
Toronto is now 77-81 with four games left. To avoid a second losing season in the last three years, the Blue Jays have to win all four.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Fans Have Every Right To Second Guess Schneiders Choices
The Blue Jays recent slide has left every lineup card and bullpen move under a harsher spotlight, and John Schneider has not been immune from the second-guessing that comes with a team fighting to keep its playoff hopes alive. When a losing streak starts to drag the club backward, the natural reaction is to revisit who was getting opportunities, who was left on the bench, and whether different usage might have helped steady the season.
Paul Sewald and Myles Straw are two names that stand out in that conversation, while Ernie Clement and Brandon Valenzuela have drawn scrutiny for the amount of run they received. In a stretch like this, the margins feel especially thin, and the debate now is not just about what went wrong, but whether Schneiders choices matched the moment well enough to keep Toronto from slipping further out of the race. [Read more 🡒]
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Just Made Toronto's Lost Season Even Harder To Ignore
The Blue Jays season has reached the point where every leftover storyline feels heavier, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added to that reality by reflecting on a year that has not matched the standard he set for himself. After Toronto was eliminated from playoff contention in a loss to the Orioles, Guerrero Jr. spoke candidly about his own performance and the way his contract has been framed, noting that it was built on what he had already accomplished rather than what anyone was projecting next.
For a club trying to make sense of a lost season, that kind of honesty lands with extra force. Guerrero Jr. acknowledged the struggles he has had this year and said his focus now is on using the offseason to get himself ready for a better one, a reminder that even with the standings settled, the pressure on Torontos biggest star is not going anywhere. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays May Have Another Rule 5 Bullpen Gem To Chase
Torontos recent success with Spencer Miles has made the Rule 5 draft feel a little less like a lottery ticket and a little more like a place where the front office can find real bullpen help. Miles has already turned into an important relief piece for the Blue Jays, which gives the club a useful backdrop as it scans the Arizona Fall League for the next wave of players who could become available if their current teams leave them off the 40-man roster.
The Blue Jays are doing what smart teams do at this stage of the calendar, keeping an eye on arms who might fit the same kind of profile and could be worth a closer look in winter. There are several pitchers in that mix, and the question now is whether Toronto will have another chance to mine the Rule 5 pool for a reliever who can actually stick, not just survive spring training. [Read more 🡒]