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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays give up late lead in series opening loss to Orioles
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Photo credit: © Jamie LeBlanc-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Sep 21, 2026, 23:16 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays season is coming to an end.
Their fate has all but been sealed for the last couple of weeks, but Monday’s 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles all but cements that there won’t be a return trip to the postseason. Let’s take a look at what went wrong in this one.
Things actually started well for the Blue Jays. Brett Bateman and Alejandro Kirk led off the top of the first with walks, then Nathan Lukes hit an RBI single to put the Jays up 1-0. The following batter, George Springer, hit an RBI single as well, followed by a sacrifice fly from Sean Keys
Following Keys, Kazuma Okamoto hit a single to put two runners on, but Josh Smith lined out and Andrés Giménez grounded out to end the inning. In the bottom half of the first, Pete Alonso took Trey Yesavage deep to get the Orioles on the board.
In the bottom of the second, Brett Bateman made a terrific catch to end the inning, but evidently injured himself and departed the game with right hip discomfort.
The Jays had a chance to add on to their lead in the top of the third, as the first two batters reached with a walk and a single. Keys hit a fly out that moved Lukes to third, but Okamoto hit into an inning ending double play to get Orioles’ starter Shane Baz out of it.
Their offence went cold from there, failing to get a runner in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. Baz retired 10 consecutive batters before Giménez hit a bloop single in the seventh, but he was left stranded. In the inning before that, Gunnar Henderson took Chad Dallas deep to make it a one-run game.
Heading into the top of the eighth up just one, Kirk led off the inning with a single. However, Lukes hit into a double play, and Springer struck out to end the inning. Mason Fluharty entered the game in the bottom of the eighth, giving up a lead-off walk but retiring the next two batters. With a righty on the mound, Tyler Rogers entered the game, then promptly gave up a two-run home run to Pete Alonso, which turned out to be the game-winning run.

Takeaways…

Starting with Brett Bateman, the centre fielder departed this game with right hip discomfort, with x-rays determining there is no fracture. While this injury isn’t good, especially with how productive he’s been, it could’ve been a lot worse. Hopefully we see him again in these final five games.
Trey Yesavage pitched for the first time since August 4th, going two innings and giving up a solo home run to Pete Alonso. It was the lone hit he gave up, as he struck out three while throwing 40 pitches. It was a solid outing in what could be his final start of the season.
Brendan Cellucci appeared in this game as well, striking out three more batters in an inning and a third. The southpaw struck out the side in order in the bottom of the fourth, but also gave up his first hit as a big leaguer. Thankfully, Chad Dallas stranded the runner at third thanks to a strikeout and fly out.
Over two and two-thirds innings, Dallas gave up an earned run, but struck out four and walked one. José Rodríguez threw another scoreless inning, surrendering just a single hit. Mason Fluharty was tagged for the game-tying run, as his lead-off walk came in to score on a two-run home run given up by Tyler Rogers. It was Rogers’ third consecutive game.
The Blue Jays’ bats had a really good start, but after Kazuma Okamoto grounded into a double play in the third, their offence was lightwork for Shane Baz. They had just two hits from the double play onward, with both runners either being stranded or hitting into a double play.
Of the six hits, George Springer had two of them. Alejandro Kirk, Nathan Lukes, Okamoto, and Andrés Giménez all hit a single as well.
This loss essentially dooms the Blue Jays’ playoff aspirations. Their magic number of elimination is now two, meaning two losses or two wins by both the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox ends their season. Even if the Jays win their remaining five games, one of the Guardians or White Sox have to go 1-5 the rest of the season. This doesn’t even mention the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, two other teams in the mix.
Tuesday’s game has a 6:35 PM ET start time. Max Scherzer is set to get the ball in what could end up being his penultimate start of his Hall of Fame career, potentially even his final start. Former Blue Jay Chris Bassitt starts for the Orioles.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, DFOEdmonton, and DFOCalgary. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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