Article: The Blue Jays Kicked Off a Tough Stretch in the Best Way

[Leo Morgenstern]

Tuesday was a pitchers duel. Wednesday was a blowout. Thursday was a nail-biter, capped off by a walk-off in extras. They were three very different victories, each satisfying in its own way. In the end, the Blue Jays came away with a sweep over one of the best teams in baseball. 

Entering play on Tuesday, May 20, the Padres were one of five clubs in either league with a winning percentage in the .600s. The Blue Jays ranked among the bottom third of teams at 22-24 (.478). By run differential, the matchup looked far more lopsided. The Padres had scored 20 more runs than the Blue Jays. Even worse, Toronto had given up 46 more runs than San Diego – one extra run per game. 

Chris Bassitt took the ball in the first game of the series and continued to do what he's done all season. The righty threw six scoreless innings, striking out six and walking just one. Dylan Cease pitched well himself, going seven innings for the Padres, but two of the three hits he allowed were home runs to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Anthony Santander. Thanks to Bassitt's excellent performance, followed by three equally excellent innings of relief from Brendon Little, Yariel Rodríguez, and Jeff Hoffman, those two home runs would be all the Blue Jays needed to beat the Padres 3-0. 

Toronto received another terrific pitching performance in game two. Indeed, it was arguably the most dominant showing we've seen from a Blue Jays starter all season. Kevin Gausman went seven scoreless, giving up just three hits and striking out nine. José Ureña pitched well too, closing out the game with a pair of scoreless innings of his own. It was his first outing of the year in which he didn't give up a run.

With that said, this game was all about the bats. The Blue Jays absolutely pounded the Padres for their most commanding victory of the year, a 14-0 rout. Every player who stepped up to the plate reached base at least once. Nathan Lukes started the scoring with a two-run homer in the fifth. Jonatan Clase, George Springer, and Addison Barger hit doubles. Bo Bichette had two hits and two RBI. Daulton Varsho crushed a grand slam to deep center field. 

The last time the Blue Jays scored at least 14 runs and shut out an opponent with a winning record was... just last year, in a 15-0 victory over the Twins on August 31. However, they haven't pulled off a victory quite like this in front of a home crowd since they beat the Yankees 14-0 at what was then known as the SkyDome on September 4, 2001.

After 19 shutout innings, Blue Jays pitching finally faltered in the second inning of game three, when Bowden Francis allowed a single to Jackson Merrill followed by a home run from Gavin Sheets. Not to be deterred, Toronto quickly retook the lead with back-to-back two-run innings in the third and fourth.

The Jays kept the Padres' bats at bay from innings two through eight, holding a 4-2 lead into the ninth. However, Merrill and Sheets made things interesting once again. Merrill walked and Sheets homered off Hoffman to tie things up. (I'm going for positivity here, so let's blow past Hoffman's third blown save of the season for now.) Thankfully, the Blue Jays' hitters never stopped battling. Each team drove in the automatic runner in the 10th and 11th innings, but a triple from Varsho and a single from Lukes helped the Jays score the extra run they needed in the bottom of the 11th to walk off the game and secure the series sweep.

Like I said, they were three very different victories, each satisfying in its own way. But Toronto's challenge isn't over. It's just beginning.  

Game one against the Padres was the beginning of a two-week stretch without a day off. The Blue Jays had an off day on Monday, May 19. They won't have another until Monday, June 2. Every other team in the league has at least one rest day during this period. Not the Jays. 

The Blue Jays were also scheduled to play 13 games in 13 days from April 4-16, but a rainout in Baltimore provided a bonus day off. Thus, this will be the longest run of interrupted baseball the Jays have played so far this season. Beating the Padres was the most daunting task of the stretch – the next ten games are against the Rays (3), Rangers (3), and Athletics (4) – but the Blue Jays were well-rested for this one. They hadn't been on the road since they returned from Seattle on May 11, and they had off days on May 12 and 19. Now, they will journey from Toronto to Tampa to Arlington before heading back home without a dedicated travel day. 

More than anything, this will be a test for the pitching staff. The veteran workhorses, Bassitt, Gausman, and José Berríos, should be fine. But Francis has already struggled this season, and his outing yesterday marked the first time since the summer of 2021 (a period beginning at Triple-A Nashville in the Brewers' system) that he has started 10 straight games in a season without a relief appearance in between. He may be 29 and pitching in his fourth MLB season, but Francis is still green. His first full season as a big league starter is reaching the point at which his durability will truly be tested. With a 5.54 ERA and 5.77 xERA through 10 starts, he could surely use an extra day off to help clear his head. Instead, he'll have to make his next two starts on four days' rest. 

Perhaps even more concerning is the question of the fifth spot in the rotation. Eric Lauer has pitched well so far, but he has mostly worked as part of a piggyback setup, and his recent track record beyond his four appearances in 2025 doesn't exactly instill a ton of confidence. Hopefully, he can provide a bit more length in his two upcoming starts. After all, the Blue Jays don't want to have to rely too heavily on either of their multi-inning relievers, Ureña and Rodríguez, to back up Lauer. This stretch will be just as taxing on the bullpen as it will be on the rotation. John Schneider will have to be meticulous with how he uses his arm barn. All eight men in the 'pen will be critical over the next 10 days.

There is no doubt this long stretch of games will present a challenge to the Blue Jays. Thankfully, they got off on the best foot possible. These past three games against the Padres represented some of the best baseball we've seen from the Blue Jays all year. Let's hope they can maintain this momentum over their next three series

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