Another costly loss for the Blue Jays

When people ask me what I think about the Blue Jays' chances of making the playoffs in 2026, I often give the same answer.

What I say is that the team has been playing better for the past month, but I need to see consistency to prove that this past month is also representative of the 2026 Blue Jays.

After all, from March through July, we saw what the 2026 Blue Jays were really like.

And even though there have been some good moments recently, there have also been games the Blue Jays let slip away because the team played poorly. An example? Yesterday's game.

In Sacramento, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The defense wasn't solid, and the pitchers weren't dominant enough.

Anything can happen in a minor league stadium, but seeing Dylan Cease give up five runs (four earned) in five innings is surprising.

He couldn't get a single pitch right, and his ERA now stands at 2.40—not ideal for the playoff race… or the Cy Young race.

Then, late in the game, with the score tied at 5-5, it was Louis Varland who gave up the go-ahead run after a defensive play failed to materialize.

The offense had tried to mount a comeback. The score was 5-1 late in the game (Alejandro Kirk had hit a home run early on) when the bats came alive.

Kazuma Okamoto (home run), Andres Gimenez, and Ernie Clement made it 5-4 in the seventh before Gimenez hit another home run in the ninth—but it was too little, too late.

Even though the Guardians lost yesterday, they still sit ahead of the Blue Jays (by one game) in the standings due to the Blue Jays' loss.

Every game counts at this point. And even though things have been going well for Toronto recently, losing two in a row isn't ideal for making the playoffs.

• The National League standings.

• A perfect game in the minors.

• He continues to hit well.

• An inspiring figure.

• A machine.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.