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Instant Reaction: Errors sink Blue Jays in 5-2 defeat against Pirates
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Photo credit: © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Aug 18, 2025, 21:45 EDTUpdated: Aug 18, 2025, 22:42 EDT
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Well, that was an atrocious baseball game.
On Monday evening, the Toronto Blue Jays opened a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, falling 5-2 thanks to their errors. Let’s take a look at what happened.
The Pirates opened the scoring in the bottom of the second, as Alexander Canario hit an RBI single on a 1-1 count. In the top of the third, the Blue Jays responded with two runs, one of which came on a double from Addison Barger with an exit velocity of 115.8 mph. The Pirates tied the game up the game in the bottom of the third, and the game stayed that way for a while.
Then, the errors started. With a runner on third base, Brendon Little spiked the ball into the dirt, with the ball getting away from catcher Tyler Heineman, giving the Pirates a 3-2 lead. Heineman committed a second error in the bottom of the fourth, airmailing a throw to second base, attempting to throw out a runner. Jared Triolo came in to score, and Alexander Canario came in to score on a sacrifice fly.

Takeaways…

It was a rough game for Heineman behind the plate.  On top of the two mistakes toward the end of the game, the Pirates’ second run was scored after Heineman dropped the ball attempting to tag the runner. All he can do is bounce back and have a better game next time he plays.
The Jays scored two runs off Paul Skenes, which usually should be enough against an offence as poor as the Pirates. Kevin Gausman had a solid game, going five innings with two runs allowed, but it was the errors that cost the Jays in this game.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was pulled from the game in the top of the fifth with left hamstring tightness. Hopefully, this isn’t something that keeps him out of the lineup for any significant period of time.
It doesn’t happen often, but the benches cleared in this game. Tommy Pham bat flipped a four-pitch walk, no words were exchanged between Heineman and Pham, but the benches cleared. There wasn’t a whole lot here, as no punches were thrown. Still fun to see, though.
The Jays totalled six hits, with Addison Barger’s double being their lone extra-base hit. Andrés Giménez, Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement, Bo Bichette, and George Springer all hit a single.
Yariel Rodríguez was tagged with the loss, giving up one earned run in an inning and a third of work. Brendon Little had a tough outing, walking two of the three batters he faced, and threw a wild pitch to allow the game-winning run to score. Seranthony Domínguez gave up two runs, but neither was earned.
The Blue Jays lost, but so too did the Boston Red Sox, meaning that the Jays’ lead of the American League East remains at five games. However, the Yankees didn’t play on Monday, meaning they move to five games behind the Jays as well.
As brutal as that game was, the Jays have a chance to rebound on Tuesday, as they face Mitch Keller starts the game for the Pirates. Max Scherzer gets the ball for the Blue Jays, with a 6:40 PM ET start time. Let’s hope that the game goes better than Monday’s.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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