The Blue Jays had every reason to feel good about taking three of four entering the finale, but the last game turned into a flat, one-sided loss as Toronto was shut out 7-0 by the Red Sox.
Max Scherzer was the bright spot. He turned in a strong outing, going five innings and allowing three hits and two walks with one earned run and four strikeouts.
He did everything a team could reasonably ask, and then some. Scherzer is now at 3004 innings pitched, which puts him 139th all time.
After that, the night belonged to Boston and to a Toronto offense that never found a pulse. The Jays managed only two hits, and there were very few at-bats that looked threatening. The game was over quickly once the bullpen started to unravel.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Nathan Lukes had the only hits for Toronto.
Spencer Miles allowed two hits but worked through his inning. Braydon Fisher kept things moving with a quick seventh.
Chase Lee was the one who got hit hard, giving up four hits and four earned runs, including a grand slam. That blew the game open.
Lazaro Estrada then surrendered two more runs.
Payton Tolle may not have been overpowering, but Toronto never made him work the way it needed to. The offense seemed rushed, and there just wasn’t enough quality contact or sustained pressure to change the shape of the game.
The night also included an early challenge that didn’t help matters. In the first inning, Valenzuela picked the wrong pitch to challenge, and it was nowhere near a strike. It may not have decided the game by itself, but it certainly didn’t improve Toronto’s position.
Jay of the Day went to Max Scherzer with a 0.14.
Other Award: Lee (-0.23), Clement (-0.12), Valenzuela (-0.11), Okamoto (-0.10), and Springer (-0.09).
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The timing is what makes this one sting a little more for the Blue Jays. JoJo Parker has also surged, moving up to No. 26 on MLB Pipelines Top 100 list, which means Toronto has more than one prized young talent on the rise even as the front office was trying to patch the big-league roster. For a club that keeps trying to balance present needs with future upside, it is the kind of development that keeps the trade calculus under a brighter light. [Read more 🡒]