The Blue Jays have slipped in the standings

After suffering their second loss in two nights to the Texas Rangers, the Toronto Blue Jays are now three games away from making the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox defeated the Detroit Tigers 3-1.

Yesterday's 6-2 loss in Arlington stings, and this win by the Rangers puts them in first place in the American League West this morning. It's now up to the Houston Astros to deal with the pressure of clinching a playoff spot. The other Texas team is just two games away from its goal.

With only seven regular-season games left to play, let's just say time is running out for John Schneider's squad. Does the team's 76-79 record perfectly reflect its performance so far? In my opinion, this record reveals a team that has been searching for its identity for much of the season and has had to deal with a number of injuries to key players. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s disappointing season adds to the reasons that will be discussed in a few days.

Let's let the 2026 season run its course—the time for reckoning will come soon enough.

Yesterday, the Toronto offense once again lacked energy. Ever since setting foot on Texas soil, the Jays' hitters have been sluggish and unable to find a response to the Rangers' pitchers' offerings. In contrast, Skip Schumaker's men are playing with conviction and scoring early in the game, giving themselves every chance to win.

In the West, the Rangers have been playing much better baseball than the Astros lately, and seeing their roles reversed yesterday comes as no surprise to me. The Blue Jays arrived in Texas at the wrong time and with the wrong attitude. It looks like they're running on fumes.

The Jays' bats managed just six hits in this game. Alejandro Kirk and Davis Schneider drove in the team's runs. Schneider hit his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot off Rangers reliever Robert Garcia. Schneider was batting as a pinch hitter at the time.

José Soriano pitched five innings for his team and allowed six runs to the home team, five of which were earned. The Rangers scored all their runs on just five hits throughout the game. When it comes to capitalizing on opportunities, it doesn't get much better than that.

Due to the situation affecting his starting rotation, John Schneider has no choice but to turn to his bullpen for another “bullpen day” today, to close out this series against the Rangers. Spencer Miles will start for his team and face the always tough Jacob deGrom. Spencer Arrighetti will also see action.

Tomorrow, in Baltimore, Trey Yesavage will return to action against the Orioles. A long-awaited—but belated—return.

Everyone knew the race for the playoffs would be exciting in the American League, but Jays fans would certainly have preferred a better scenario than the one we're seeing right now. The final home stand against the Reds is likely to be largely meaningless, much to the chagrin of the team's fans.

• Yankees lose.

• What a play!

• Orion Kerkering to Triple-A.

• Big outing for Brayan Bello, but the Red Sox lost.

• Todd Helton's statue in Colorado.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.