Series recap: Blue Jays offence explodes and pitching implodes in series against Reds

What a wild series that was.

Starting on Monday, the Toronto Blue Jays began a series in Ohio against the Cincinnati Reds, taking two of three and extending their American League East division lead to three-and-a-half games. Let’s take a look at what happened in this game.

On Monday afternoon, the Blue Jays and Reds were locked in a low-scoring affair, as they headed into the top of the ninth with the Reds leading 2-1. After the lead-off man reached, Bo Bichette hit an opposite-field home run, and Daulton Varsho followed that up with a homer of his own to make it 4-2. Unfortunately, the bullpen collapsed once again, as the ball found some holes off Tommy Nance, and Brendon Little was tagged with the blown save in a 5-4 walk-off defeat.

Before the Reds even got a chance to bat on Tuesday, the Blue Jays put up a four-spot. After the top of the second, the Blue Jays had an 8-1 lead, but the Reds fought back to make it 8-6 after two innings, bouncing José Berríos early. The two teams traded runs throughout the game, with the Jays never relinquishing their lead in a 12-9 victory that saw George Springer go deep twice, while Bichette and Varsho hit two more home runs.

You think 12-9 is a crazy score? Well, the Blue Jays one-upped themselves on Wednesday, defeating the Reds 13-9 to take the series. Like Monday’s game, the ball found the hole, this time in the second inning as Shane Bieber was tagged with five earned runs. The Jays fought back, though, as their next six runs were scored thanks to the long ball, hitting five in total. Varsho went deep for the third consecutive game, and Springer hit his team-leading 27th home run of the season.

This series was the best the offence has been since their outburst against the Colorado Rockies. Springer was fantastic, slashing .545/.667/1.364 with three home runs for a 420 wRC+, while Varsho also hit three home runs and had a 308 wRC+. Bichette (289 wRC+) hit two home runs, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (292 wRC+), Alejandro Kirk (228 wRC+), and Addison Barger (85 wRC+) each hit a home run. 

Ty France had a great series as well, slashing .800/.667/1.000 in six plate appearances for a 331 wRC+. What a great pickup he has been. Ernie Clement finished with a 68 wRC+, and Andrés Giménez had a 50 wRC+. Nathan Lukes had a tough series, failing to get a hit with a -100 wRC+. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Myles Straw, and Davis Schneider all finished with a -100 wRC+ as well in limited plate appearances.

The Blue Jays’ offence exploded, but their pitching imploded. Chris Bassitt had the strongest start of the three pitchers in the rotation, giving up just two earned runs in six innings of work, as the Blue Jays lost that game. Bieber gave up five earned runs in six innings of work, but the only speed bump was the second inning, facing the minimum in the other five innings. José Berríos pitched just two innings, giving up six runs, two of which were earned. He has to be better as the Jays head to the postseason.

Even worse was the bullpen. Starting with the good, Jeff Hoffman pitched two scoreless innings, picking up a save in Tuesday’s game. Yariel Rodríguez appears to be back on track, pitching two scoreless innings. Ryan Borucki returned to the Blue Jays’ active roster for the first time since 2022 and got an out, but allowed an inherited run to score (it was unearned). Dillon Tate pitched a scoreless inning as well.

Louis Varland pitched a scoreless inning and two-thirds on Tuesday, and it looked as if he got back on track. That optimism was short-lived, as he gave up three earned runs in Wednesday’s game. Tommy Nance was on the hook for two earned runs that Little allowed to score, with Little’s ERA of 27 being the worst of any reliever this series. The lone out he got came in Wednesday’s game, a strikeout to end the inning for Varland. 

Seranthony Domínguez gave up a home run, but pitched an inning and got a hold. Eric Lauer was able to go just 2.1 innings after Berríos was lifted, which was less than ideal for the bullpen.

Despite a car crash of a series for the Jays, they exited Wednesday with a three-and-a-half division lead on both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Thanks to a tiebreaker over both teams, no matter what happens over the weekend, the Jays will enter Monday with the division lead. Let’s just hope they sweep the Yankees.