The Blue Jays are playing like crap (and you can’t just blame it on injuries)

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
The Blue Jays are playing like crap (and you can’t just blame it on injuries)
Credit: FOX Sports

Let's face it: things are going badly in Toronto. Really badly.

The team has lost six of its last seven games. It lost its three-game series against Colorado, got swept in Chicago… and yesterday, it was humiliated by the Dodgers.

Do injuries play a role in all this? Of course.

Alejandro Kirk, Cody Ponce, Max Scherzer (who left after two innings yesterday due to tendinitis that the Blue Jays and the player consider minor), and Addison Barger are among the guys who have gotten hurt.

The team has turned to a host of veterans on the mound to patch holes in the bullpen recently. On top of that, a virus is going around the locker room, which is affecting play on the field. Eric Lauer has been slowed down by it, and maybe other guys are too.

All of these are factors.

That said, it would be a bit unfair to say that it's because of injuries and a virus that the Blue Jays are playing like crap. We won't mince words this morning: that's the reality.

A quick glance shows us that last year's defensive excellence hasn't carried over into 2026. Even at this early stage, it seems to be making a difference… because you don't realize you need good defense until you start losing games because of it.

On the mound, the guys are getting hit hard—even since Brendon Little was sent down to AAA. And at the plate, the hitters aren't able to capitalize when there are runners in scoring position.

That's the perfect recipe. Clearly…

Maybe the magic of 2025 will come back around later. But right now, all the ingredients in the Blue Jays' recipe are preventing the cake from rising at all.

To be honest, it looks like the damn cake isn't even in the oven.

Tonight, John Schneider will absolutely need Kevin Gausman, his best pitcher, to come out with a big one—just like he's been doing since the start of the season. He'll also need Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to stop “coming close” to hitting big hits.

The slide has to be stopped. And it'll be up to the best players to take matters into their own hands.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.

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