On Max Scherzer’s 42nd birthday, the Blue Jays got a night that felt part tribute, part test run, and part reminder of how strange this season has become.
Scherzer made his seventh start of the year and his first since June 10, drawing a loud ovation from the Nationals Park crowd before settling in for what turned into a short, uneven outing. A member of Washington’s 2019 World Series team, he acknowledged the fans, then went to work in a game that may have been his final start for Toronto with MLB’s Aug. 3 trade deadline looming.
The first inning told the story fast. Scherzer gave up a hit on the first pitch he threw, loaded the bases with nobody out, then punched out two straight hitters before Alejandro Kirk’s error on a foul pop-up extended the inning.
He escaped without damage by getting a groundout, but it took 22 pitches to get through the frame. Add the 28 he needed in the second, and the night was already headed toward the bullpen.
Scherzer’s edge was there. The command wasn’t.
A leadoff walk in the third was his third free pass of the night, and by then it was clear he didn’t look like the two-time Cy Young winner from his Washington days or the version Toronto saw last fall. He lasted two outs into the third, leaving to another ovation after a 75-pitch outing in which he struck out four and allowed four stolen bases.
If he stays on turn, his next start for the Jays would come this weekend - assuming he’s still on the roster.
Toronto still walked away with a 3-2 win over Washington, only its fourth victory since the All-Star break. It also came on a night when Kazuma Okamoto stole his first big-league base and closer Louis Varland had to sweat through a tense ninth before picking up his 22nd save.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gave Toronto one of its cleaner offensive moments in the fifth. With one out, he went the other way on a hard-hit ball and turned it into a double with a head-first slide into second.
It was his 17th double of the season, and later he was thrown out at home on a rundown. Toronto challenged the call, but the out stood.
The double was Guerrero’s seventh extra-base hit in July, after he had four in June.
Alejandro Kirk’s night only added to the scrutiny around him. The Jays signed him to a five-year, $58 million extension back in March of 2025, but that move is looking a lot less settled now.
Kirk went 0-for-3 with a walk and saw his average fall to .224. Money remains the main reason he’s playing ahead of rookie Brandon Valenzuela, whose performance has made a stronger case for more time.
Toronto’s catching depth is thin, which makes a move away from Kirk difficult to picture, though that could change if the right deal shows up in the next few days.
The Blue Jays also made the right call with their lineup against Washington’s pitching plan. Expecting lefty Andrew Alvarez to follow opener Eddy Yean, Toronto leaned right-handed, with Nathan Lukes and Daulton Varsho as the only left-handed bats in the starting group.
That approach paid off in the third inning. After Varsho grounded out, Luis Urias stepped in and launched a 416-foot solo homer, his third of the season.
Urias has brought some real pop since arriving from the Arizona Diamondbacks last month. He doesn’t look imposing at the plate, but he keeps producing, and his homer Monday was another reminder that he’s been useful in Toronto’s lineup. He now has half as many home runs as Guerrero, who is making half a billion dollars.
Looking ahead, Shane Bieber will take the ball Tuesday against Washington. He has been sharp in his last two outings, enough that potential suitors may already be asking questions.
As a pending free agent, he could be making his final start for Toronto, and a strong showing against the Nationals would only help his trade value. Washington is scheduled to start right-hander Cade Cavalli, with first pitch set for 6:45 p.m.
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For collectors, the timing only adds to the fascination around Gibson, whose cards have become prized pieces of the hobby, especially scarce issues tied to Puerto Rico and modern chase cards from the Bowman Retrofractor line. But the bigger story is what the updated record book says about how baseball is choosing to remember its past, and Gibsons newly recognized standing only deepens the conversation about just how dominant he really was. [Read more 🡒]