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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays offence goes cold in 2-1 loss to Rockies
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Photo credit: © John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Apr 1, 2026, 16:30 EDTUpdated: Apr 1, 2026, 17:00 EDT
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That’s not what you want to see early into the season.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays played the series finale against the Colorado Rockies, dropping the decision by a score of 2-1 to move their season record to 4-2. Let’s take a look at what went on in this one.
The Blue Jays had traffic on the bases early in the game, but Kyle Freeland always found a way out of it. There was one exception. In the bottom of the third, Myles Straw led the inning off with a single. After Andrés Giménez walked, George Springer hit a single to put two runners on, then Davis Schneider hit an RBI single to make it 1-0.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was then hit by a pitch, but Kazuma Okamoto struck out and Alejandro Kirk hit a liner to end the inning. The Jays got two runners on in the bottom of the fourth, but a flyout and a strikeout ended that rally.
Kevin Gausman ran into some trouble in the fifth, but struck out a batter and got a grounder to end the inning. In the seventh, Tyler Rogers threw a scoreless inning. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays weren’t unscathed in the top of the eighth, as Tommy Nance led off the inning with a walk and a stolen base set up Troy Johnston to hit an RBI single to tie the game at one.
There was still trouble, as Johnston stole second and advanced on a wild pitch. Nance got a strikeout, but he walked Willi Castro to end his afternoon with runners on the corners with one out. As he showed last season, Mason Fluharty has ice in his veins, striking out the next two batters to end the threat.
The Blue Jays were unable to score before the end of the ninth, sending the two teams to extra innings. They say it’s a game of inches, and that was the case for Brendon Little in this game, as his pitch just missed the outside of the plate. Two pitches later, Tyler Freeman hit a single up the middle. The Jays were unable to follow suit in the bottom of the 10th, losing 2-1.

Takeaways…

After one of the best Opening Day starts in franchise history, Kevin Gausman’s second outing was just as good. He carried a no-hitter into the top of the fifth, and allowed just two hits over his six innings of work. Gausman hit double-digit strikeouts once again, striking out 10.
Tommy Nance should not be pitching in high-leverage scenarios, even with the bullpen as taxed as it is. The veteran righty is a good pitcher to use in low-leverage spots as he throws strikes, but with Mason Fluharty available in the eighth, the Jays should have turned to the lefty.
Speaking of Fluharty, the 24-year-old struck out both batters he faced while having to worry about runners on the corner. It’s reminiscent of his outing in August last season, where he struck out Shohei Ohtani and got Mookie Betts to ground out to end the game. Fluharty has ice in his veins.
Jeff Hoffman gave up the game-tying home run on Opening Day, the first time he had pitched since Game 7. Other than that one pitch, which wasn’t even a bat pitch to begin with, he’s been terrific. Over his four innings of work, Hoffman has struck out 10 of the 16 batters he faced.
Tyler Rogers was as good as ever, pitching a scoreless inning. It was far from perfect, though, as he gave up two hits. Thankfully, Ernie Clement made a terrific behind-the-back throw to second base to erase one of the runners.
Last season, the Blue Jays set the record for most hits and most runs in a three-game series in Major League Baseball history against the Rockies. This series was far closer, with the Blue Jays’ offence struggling to get that big hit. Tuesday’s game was the closest they’ve come to looking like the 2025 team, while Monday’s game was just brutal luck with Cody Ponce’s injury.
As for Wednesday, it’s hard to do much when all you do is hit singles. Ernie Clement and Myles Straw hit two of the four singles, while Davis Schneider, Kazuma Okamoto, and Alejandro Kirk hit the other three.
George Springer has hit two home runs and a double, but it’s been a very tough start for the Blue Jays’ designated hitter. It’s easy to point to his .154 batting average as a concern, and it is, but the quality of his at-bats are a far cry compared to what they were last season. Wednesday afternoon saw him strikeout three times, bringing his season K% to 37.9%.
No matter how you slice it, this was a disappointing loss, as was the series loss. The start of the season is one of the easiest parts of the Blue Jays schedule, and to hand two games to the Rockies like that is not ideal.
They’ll play their first road series of the season, travelling to Chicago to face the White Sox beginning on Friday. The first game has a start time of 2:10 PM ET with Dylan Cease on the mound to face his former team, weather permitting.
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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