Mets, Blue Jays share trail of disappointment

The Toronto Blue Jays have a chance for a series victory against the visiting New York Mets on Tuesday night in what could be one of the few highlights of a disappointing homestand.

The Blue Jays snapped a six-game losing streak Monday night with a 2-1 victory in the opener of the three-game series, moving to 2-6 on their 10-game homestand.

The Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when George Springer circled the bases on what should have been a single to left. Juan Soto let the ball skip past him, and center fielder A.J. Ewing fumbled it while backing up the play. Springer was awarded a triple, with Ewing's error allowing him to score.

"When you have an outfield like that (artificial turf) that bounces a lot, you have to be aware because you can give up extra bases really easily," Soto said. "So I would say you've just got to be aggressive. That was my mindset -- just be aggressive, come through the ball instead of trying to play it back, and maybe bounce over my head. But I actually just stopped."

Toronto starter Trey Yesavage, who allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings, had worked around Soto's double in the top of the first. The Blue Jays had been scored upon in the first inning in the previous seven games.

As for the Mets, they have lost nine of their past 10 games, including the opener of a seven-game road trip that next will take them to Atlanta for a four-game series with National League East-leading Braves.

Kevin Gausman (4-6, 4.36 ERA) is Toronto's scheduled starter on Tuesday. The right-hander is 1-4 with a 5.14 ERA in six career games (five starts) against the Mets.

Right-hander Nolan McLean (4-5, 4.03) is New York's expected starter. The rookie has not faced the Blue Jays.

Former Blue Jays infielder Bo Bichette returned to face his former team for the first time and received a rousing ovation in Toronto.

Bichette signed a three-year, $126 million contract with the Mets as a free agent in the offseason. His final game with Toronto was Game 7 of the 2025 World Series, won by the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.

"I think I gave it everything I had," an emotional Bichette said in a pregame media session. "I just hope that's appreciated."

Bichette and Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had been teammates since the minor leagues and are close friends.

"We went through it all together," Bichette said. "The one goal we had together, we didn't accomplish it."

Bichette was 0-for-4 on Monday. In his previous 23 games, he batted .362 with five homers and 17 RBIs after a slow start with his new team.

"I think there was an element of not finding a lot of luck early, not finding his timing," Mets interim manager Andy Green said. "He's squaring stuff up, he's got the normal aggression that he's had his entire career, and he's spraying hits all over the yard."

Bichette was teary-eyed when he took the field.

"Appreciated what (Bichette) said in terms of he hopes that everyone understands he left it all out there, which he did," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. "And I thought it was cool that our fans recognized him, and rightfully so. I thought the reaction was really, really well-deserved."

The Mets recalled right-hander Joey Gerber from Triple-A Syracuse and optioned right-hander Tobias Myers on Monday. Gerber entered the game in the eighth with two runners on and no outs and retired the next three batters -- two on strikeouts.