The 5 Most Clutch Plays by Blue Jays Hitters in 2026

It was undoubtedly a year to forget for most of the position players on this roster. The monster innings, big hits with runners in scoring position, and ferocious comebacks that the fanbase had grown accustomed to over the previous year all vanished to the detriment of the Blue Jays' chances of defending their American League title, but that's not to say there weren't bright spots. Kazuma Okamoto set a home run record for a Japanese rookie. Alejandro Kirk looked like his best self for most of the second half. Brett Bateman hit for a 151 wRC+ in September. Here were the most pivotal swings of the season for an offense that's hoping to bounce back in 2027.

5. Nathan Lukes: 2-Run HR, Bot 8, 6/28 (+39.3% WPA)

At this point, the Jays were in the midst of an extended late-June swoon, succumbing to a losing streak that would become the first signal they were letting the season slip away. Just about the only life they showed at any instance in their series against Texas was this blast by Nathan Lukes, putting them on the board in the eighth and tying the game in the process. Lukes got a slider from Cole Winn that stayed on the corner down and in, a spot that so many lefties seem to love when it comes to breaking balls.

4. Alejandro Kirk: Solo HR, Bot 9, 3/28 (+47.7% WPA)

Opening weekend was filled with so many memorable moments for this team, and Captain Kirk's game-tying missile in the bottom of the ninth of the middle game of that series sat near the top of the WPA leaderboard all year. Michael Kelly left a slider right over the middle of the plate, and Kirk drilled it over the wall, over the Toronto bullpen, and into the seats in left field, tying the score in a game the Jays trailed 6-2 in the seventh. Ernie Clement would win it with a single in the 11th.

3. Nathan Lukes: 2-Run HR, Top 11, 8/8 (+48.5% WPA)

Between this go-ahead homer with two outs in the 11th, his game-saving outfield assist a day later, and his home run against the Rangers, Nathan Lukes had a flair for the dramatic in 2026. In fact, August 8 may well have been the Nathan Lukes Game. In the ninth, he made an impressive running grab in foul territory, avoiding a collision with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to record a huge out. Earlier in the evening, he had laid out for a sensational diving catch to end the fifth inning. Safe to say that Phillies fans were happy to not have to see him anymore after that weekend.

2. Kazuma Okamoto: 3-Run HR, Bot 8, 9/14 (+57.1% WPA) 

This home run elicits such conflicting emotions. On one hand, blowing the game after such a monumental swing in the middle of a playoff race is the type of misstep most teams don't recover from, and the Blue Jays certainly didn't. On the other, what a moment for Kazuma Okamoto. It felt like the first homer that truly had the potential to change the season for this team, a true no-doubter that electrified the crowd right away. Had Detroit lost, Kyle Finnegan would've wondered why he put an 0-2 fastball in that spot for a long time to come. Okamoto deserved to play in the postseason this year. Hopefully we'll see that in 2027.

1. Daulton Varsho: Walk-Off Grand Slam, Bot 10, 5/13 (+68.4% WPA)

Ultimately, the now-departed Daulton Varsho's offensive struggles this year eventually overshadowed this moment, but in any discussion about clutch plays, it's hard to beat a walk-off slam. I mentioned this when I first wrote about this homer, but baseball can be an eerily symmetric sport sometimes. As it happens, Varsho also had the Jays' biggest regular season hit in 2025. That one was also a go-ahead multi-run homer against the Rays in the late innings at the Rogers Centre. That one also came with two outs and was similarly impactful in terms of win probability added (67.9%). Craziest of all: It also happened on May 13, exactly one year before this grand slam! How about that?