logo
Instant Reaction: Louis Varland picks up first career save in Blue Jays’ 4-2 victory over Angels
alt
Photo credit: © Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Apr 22, 2026, 10:30 EDTUpdated: Apr 22, 2026, 10:26 EDT
Comments
The Toronto Blue Jays have finally won a series.
On Tuesday evening, the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Angels 4-2. This was not only their first series win since the first of the season, but their first three-game winning streak since that sweep of the Athletics. Let’s dig into what happened last night!
Patrick Corbin carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, imagine that in 2026. Oswald Peraza eventually broke up that bid with a single, followed by a Nolan Schanuel single to put runners on the corners. Vaughn Grissom drove Peraza in with a sacrifice fly to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.
The Blue Jays finally got to Angels’ starter Jack Kochanowicz in the top of the sixth. After Ernie Clement struck out, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Jesús Sánchez hit back-to-back singles to put runners in the corners. That set up Eloy Jiménez to hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at one.
This game was won in the top of the eighth. Ernie Clement hit a one-out double to put a runner in scoring position, with the Angels walking Guerrero Jr. With a lefty on the mound, the Blue Jays brought in Lenyn Sosa for Sánchez, with one of the newest Blue Jays proceeding to hit a two-run double to put the Blue Jays up 3-1. Jiménez drove in pinch-runner Davis Schneider thanks to a hard hit ground ball that found a hole.
While the Blue Jays’ eighth inning is why they won, the game wasn’t done heading into the bottom of the ninth. In came closer Jeff Hoffman, who struck out Zach Neto to begin the inning. Mike Trout hit a soft bloop single to give the Angels a run, with Hoffman hitting the next two batters with a pitch to load the bases. After a single by Yoán Moncada, Hoffman was relieved by Louis Varland.
It took Varland just one pitch to end the game, as the Blue Jays turned a double play to give them their third consecutive win.

Takeaways…

If this game showed us anything, it’s that Louis Varland needs to be the closer from here on out. On top of picking up his first career save, Varland still hasn’t given up an earned run in his 13 innings of work. With a 41.3 K% and 6.5 BB%, Varland has a sparkling 0.91 FIP. It was also the first time in franchise history a pitcher got a save by throwing just one pitch for two outs, and just the 11th time since the 1980s. That stat comes courtesy of Chris Black.
When he’s on, Jeff Hoffman is a great pitcher. Even now, the right-handed pitcher is rocking a 42.1 K% and 31.6 K-BB%, which is fantastic. His ERA of 7.59 is deceiving, as Hoffman has a .609 BABIP, the highest total for any pitcher with five or more innings pitched. Hoffman has a FIP of 3.33, which is more inline with how he’s pitched, and he has an expected ERA of 2.58 and expected FIP of 1.66. He shouldn’t close, but he definitely has a spot on the Blue Jays.
How about Patrick Corbin, though? The Jays were required to sign the left-handed starter after injuries decimated their rotation. His first time out wasn’t great, but in his last two outings, Corbin has given up just two earned runs over 10.2 innings pitched. Tuesday’s game saw him allow just two hits, with two walks and three strikeouts. His performance gives the Blue Jays options to build Trey Yesavage’s pitch count after a tough outing on Tuesday.
There were other positive pitching performances on Tuesday as well. Spencer Miles dropped his ERA to 3.09 thanks to a scoreless inning and a third with a strikeout and a nice barehand play. Mason Fluharty rebounded from his last outing and picked up the win, striking out one of the two batters he faced. Tyler Rogers’ has a spectacular ERA of 0.73 after three ground ball outs.
As for the Blue Jays’ bats, Ernie Clement hit his 10th double of the season and had a two-hit game. Lenyn Sosa’s fifth double drove in the game-winning run, while Daulton Varsho also had a two-hit game.
It looks like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has finally gotten some protection behind him in the batting order. He went 1-3 with a walk and a single and was followed by Jesús Sánchez, who went 1-2 with a walk. Sánchez’ pinch-hitting replacement, Sosa, hit that double. After Sánchez is Eloy Jiménez, who drove in two runs with a single, a walk, and a sacrifice fly. Simply put, they can’t DFA Jiménez, who is now batting .381.
The Blue Jays will hunt for their first series sweep since the first series of the season, as they play the Angels on Wednesday afternoon at 3:07 PM ET. Eric Lauer is set to start for the Blue Jays against José Soriano. The Angels’ starter is currently rocking a 0.28 ERA.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

Featured

News

Breaking News