Losing their sixth straight series was never the plan, but it was the reality the 2026 Blue Jays had to face after losing two straight games to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

They were never supposed to be here, even this early in the season, nor were they expected to occupy the bottom of their own division. This was a team in crisis until they showed a glimmer of hope by finally cashing in their runs.

The circumstances around the Blue Jays were exacerbating each day when they reported a flurry of pitching injuries. Then injuries began to swallow more players, even some of the better bats in the lineup, like Addison Barger, Alejandro Kirk and George Springer. The roster was downright depleted – winning any number of games with a much weaker lineup looked like a miracle. Daulton Varsho’s knee injury only added fuel to the fire.

From that pessimistic point of view, losing games and series wasn’t much of a surprise. What was devastating for the Blue Jays was the impact of continued defeat on the clubhouse morale. Eric Lauer’s recent criticism of the opener strategy signified the ongoing frustration and discord that came with the extended slump.

The problem went beyond the lineup construction and bullpen pitching woes. The offence that was known for one of the lowest strikeouts became a lineup that generated weaker contact without many extra-base hits. In Saturday’s game, the Blue Jays produced 11 singles, one extra-base hit and two runs, which turned out to be the worst strategy that was destined for failure.

The Blue Jays’ chance at their redemption tour would slip away even further had they let the Diamondbacks sweep them in a three-game series. Understanding the stakes, Toronto didn’t give the surging Diamondbacks the chance to crush them on Sunday. All it took was repeating the pattern of single, double, single, single, single and single to score five runs against Arizona’s Ryne Nelson. As if that wasn’t enough, the Blue Jays’ offence scored three more runs to give Kevin Gausman the run support he needed and deserved. That was the beginning of how the slumping Blue Jays ended their four-game losing streak.

The good news is that there are plenty of other teams, like Toronto are going through disappointing moments. The Mets have lost 11 consecutive games, the Phillies have experienced both pitching and offensive struggles, and the Boston Red Sox are still in disarray, even with some promising young talents.  The bad news is that the Blue Jays already had a six-game losing streak and a four-game losing streak even before reaching the month of May.

Injuries will always be part of the game; good teams know how to put together wins without their best players. That’s the assignment the Blue Jays haven’t been able to figure out until they narrowly escaped a sweep on the road. Overcoming adversity isn’t complicated. Sometimes, it’s as simple as stringing together a few meaningful hits and turning it over to the next man up. Toronto leaned into that this time and reaped the reward they desperately needed.

But it’s still too early to rekindle the optimism for the 2026 Blue Jays. This team hasn’t proven its ability to maintain its winning momentum yet. Winning streaks may not be mandatory at this point in the season, but sooner or later, the Blue Jays will need at least one to launch themselves back as the AL Champions and a legitimate contender. Strong teams win regardless of the disadvantages and challenges ahead. The Blue Jays beat around struggling Ryne Nelson as the pitcher grappled with his command; they should translate that approach against any pitchers, no matter how invincible they may seem. The 2025 Blue Jays got to where they were because they knew how to bring down the Titans – the 2026 Blue Jays have to carry that torch for a shot at returning to the playoff stage.

Better yet, they have to feast on teams with weaker pitching depth to rack up wins. Toronto is on its way to face the Los Angeles Angels for another three-game series in Anaheim. The Angels are a much better team than they used to be. This is a team that split a series with the New York Yankees earlier and scored a total of 32 runs in that series alone.

For a team that’s been limping for a couple of weeks, scraping out one win would be against the pesky but oddly mighty Angels, already a win on its own. Though if the Blue Jays have truly turned things around, they would remain patient at the plate, flush out the bad memories and pitch to their strength.

Everything is still against the Blue Jays. They are still as injured as ever; their pitching has been gassed from top to bottom; they’ve already experienced some cacophony within their team. Despite all of this, the Blue Jays must overcome whatever obstacle is in their way. They’ve pretty much hit rock bottom; they can only go up from here.

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