That was the most deflating loss since Game 2 of the Wild Card Series.

On Tuesday evening, the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/">Toronto Blue Jays</a> began a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox, falling 4-1 to move to 90-67. Once again, the Jays finished with limited hits, but left plenty of runners stranded.  Let’s take a look at what went wrong in this one.
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Masataka Yoshida hit a lead-off double in the top of the second, and after Kevin Gausman got the next two outs, Nathaniel Lowe hit an RBI single to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.
The Blue Jays got a lead-off double of their own in the bottom of the fourth, courtesy of Nathan Lukes. Davis Schneider followed that up with a single to put runners on the corners for Andrés Giménez. The shortstop hit into a force out, cashing in the run. Although they had a second runner on third, the Jays didn’t cash him in.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
We&#39;re all tied up 👏
📺: Sportsnet <a href="https://t.co/QoD2XcMj33">pic.twitter.com/QoD2XcMj33</a>
&mdash; Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1970645311975534592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
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In hindsight, the Blue Jays’ chances of winning this game crashed once the Red Sox went to their bullpen. After Schneider struck out to end the bottom of the fifth, the Red Sox hung a three-spot on the Jays for a 4-1 victory.
<h2>Takeaways…</h2>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/kevin-gausman-has-pitched-himself-toronto-blue-jays-game-1-starter">Kevin Gausman</a> didn’t have the best of starts, giving up four earned runs in five and two-thirds innings of work. He pitched a bit better than the scoreline suggests, but he had plenty of traffic. As for the bullpen, Louis Varland pitched a clean inning and a third, Braydon Fisher walked two in his third of an inning, but Mason Fluharty got him out of the inning. The lefty pitched an inning and a third and was lifted for Tommy Nance, who got the final out.
Although Gausman allowed four runs, it was the offence that sank the Blue Jays once again. They finished with three hits, all of which came in the bottom of the fourth. Despite that, they had plenty of traffic as Lucas Giolito was erratic and the Red Sox (namely Trevor Story) made two errors.
Even with the Sox begging the Blue Jays to take a lead, the Jays were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine base runners. Three of those base runners were stranded in the bottom of the second, but it didn’t come without controversy. George Springer hit a ball to the third base side, with the ball clearly going over the bag. However, it was deemed a foul, making it a 2-2 count. The next pitch was a clear ball that was called a strike, ending the threat. It’s just bush league at this point.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Quite honestly the worst umpired inning I&#39;ve ever watched.
Doing this in late September is bush league. <a href="https://t.co/814lLcXo7S">pic.twitter.com/814lLcXo7S</a>
&mdash; Ryley Delaney🏳️‍⚧️ (@Ryley__Delaney) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ryley__Delaney/status/1970637001041871252?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
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That said, the umpires just had a rough game overall, and the Blue Jays had some calls go their way later in the game. Simply put, finishing with five or fewer hits in six of their last eight games is going to cost them.
On top of the loss, the New York Yankees pulled out a come-from-behind victory, as former Blue Jay Brandon Eisert airmailed a 2-2 pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, allowing the Yankees to score. The Yankees went on to win 3-2, with the Jays&#8217; division lead dropping to one (<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/5-teams-blue-jays-hold-tiebreaker-over-and-why-they-matter">with a tiebreaker</a>).
There is a legitimate chance that the Yankees tie the Blue Jays for the division lead on Wednesday. Max Scherzer starts for the Blue Jays in the second game of the series, and he is opposed by Garret Crochett. Tuesday’s game has a 7:07 PM ET start time. The Yankees have Max Fried starting, so that’s nearly a guaranteed win.
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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Blue Jays Nation</a>, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Oilersnation</a>, and <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/author/ryley-delaney">FlamesNation</a>. She can be followed on Twitter <a href="https://x.com/Ryley__Delaney">@Ryley__Delaney</a>.
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That was the most deflating loss since Game 2 of the Wild Card Series.



On Tuesday evening, the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/">Toronto Blue Jays</a> began a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox, falling 4-1 to move to 90-67. Once again, the Jays finished with limited hits, but left plenty of runners stranded.  Let’s take a look at what went wrong in this one.
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Masataka Yoshida hit a lead-off double in the top of the second, and after Kevin Gausman got the next two outs, Nathaniel Lowe hit an RBI single to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.

The Blue Jays got a lead-off double of their own in the bottom of the fourth, courtesy of Nathan Lukes. Davis Schneider followed that up with a single to put runners on the corners for Andrés Giménez. The shortstop hit into a force out, cashing in the run. Although they had a second runner on third, the Jays didn’t cash him in.

https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1970645311975534592

In hindsight, the Blue Jays’ chances of winning this game crashed once the Red Sox went to their bullpen. After Schneider struck out to end the bottom of the fifth, the Red Sox hung a three-spot on the Jays for a 4-1 victory.
<h2>Takeaways…</h2>
<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/kevin-gausman-has-pitched-himself-toronto-blue-jays-game-1-starter">Kevin Gausman</a> didn’t have the best of starts, giving up four earned runs in five and two-thirds innings of work. He pitched a bit better than the scoreline suggests, but he had plenty of traffic. As for the bullpen, Louis Varland pitched a clean inning and a third, Braydon Fisher walked two in his third of an inning, but Mason Fluharty got him out of the inning. The lefty pitched an inning and a third and was lifted for Tommy Nance, who got the final out.

Although Gausman allowed four runs, it was the offence that sank the Blue Jays once again. They finished with three hits, all of which came in the bottom of the fourth. Despite that, they had plenty of traffic as Lucas Giolito was erratic and the Red Sox (namely Trevor Story) made two errors.

Even with the Sox begging the Blue Jays to take a lead, the Jays were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine base runners. Three of those base runners were stranded in the bottom of the second, but it didn’t come without controversy. George Springer hit a ball to the third base side, with the ball clearly going over the bag. However, it was deemed a foul, making it a 2-2 count. The next pitch was a clear ball that was called a strike, ending the threat. It’s just bush league at this point.

https://twitter.com/Ryley__Delaney/status/1970637001041871252

That said, the umpires just had a rough game overall, and the Blue Jays had some calls go their way later in the game. Simply put, finishing with five or fewer hits in six of their last eight games is going to cost them.

On top of the loss, the New York Yankees pulled out a come-from-behind victory, as former Blue Jay Brandon Eisert airmailed a 2-2 pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, allowing the Yankees to score. The Yankees went on to win 3-2, with the Jays' division lead dropping to one (<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/5-teams-blue-jays-hold-tiebreaker-over-and-why-they-matter">with a tiebreaker</a>).

There is a legitimate chance that the Yankees tie the Blue Jays for the division lead on Wednesday. Max Scherzer starts for the Blue Jays in the second game of the series, and he is opposed by Garret Crochett. Tuesday’s game has a 7:07 PM ET start time. The Yankees have Max Fried starting, so that’s nearly a guaranteed win.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Blue Jays Nation</a>, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Oilersnation</a>, and <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/author/ryley-delaney">FlamesNation</a>. She can be followed on Twitter <a href="https://x.com/Ryley__Delaney">@Ryley__Delaney</a>.

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