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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays’ offence nowhere to be found in 7-1 loss to Rangers
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Photo credit: © Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Sep 18, 2026, 23:45 EDTUpdated: Sep 18, 2026, 23:40 EDT
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That may have been the deathblow to the Toronto Blue Jays’ playoff hopes.
On Friday, the Blue Jays began a three-game series against the Texas Rangers, a team that shared an identical 77-78 record to them entering play. Unfortunately, it didn’t go the Blue Jays’ way as they fell 7-1. Let’s take a look at what went on in this one.
Dylan Cease issued a pair of walks in the bottom of the first, but got out of it unscathed thanks to a double play. He wasn’t so lucky in the bottom of the second. Cease walked two and gave up a single to load the bases, then a fielder’s choice error scored two, a sacrifice fly scored a third run, and a double made it 4-0.
The sad thing is, the Blue Jays had their chance in the top of the second, managing two one-out singles, but a flyout and strikeout ended the threat. It was the last chance they had to score until the top of the fifth.  But before the Jays threatened again, Cease’s struggles continued.  In the bottom of the third,  he loaded the bases with one out thanks to two more walks and a single. He struck out his final batter, then Brendan Cellucci struck out Evan Carter for the final out of the inning.
In the Blue Jays’ half of the fifth, they drew a pair of walks to lead-off the inning. After an Ernie Clement force out, Myles Straw hit an RBI double to get the Jays on the board. That drove Rangers’ starter Kumar Rocker from the game, but a strikeout and fly out ended the inning.
The game was pretty much done at that point. In the bottom of the fifth, a lead-off walk came in to score after a single and sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the sixth, Kazuma Okamoto committed a throwing error, with the runner coming in to score after a single, a walk, and a bases loaded walk. Another error led to a Ranger run in the bottom eighth, the seventh and final run they scored in this 7-1 disaster of a loss.
Takeaways…
It’s been clear for pretty much the entire season that the 2026 Blue Jays aren’t the 2025 Blue Jays, the magic is gone. But this loss right here pretty much takes them out of the playoff race. Paired with a Cleveland Guardians victory, the Jays are now two games behind the final wild card.
That’s because the Chicago White Sox now occupy the final wild card spot. Of course, that’s bad news for the Blue Jays as the White Sox hold the tiebreaker over the Jays. Two games behind is essentially three games behind the White Sox because of that.
It also doesn’t help that the Rangers are in the mix for the final wild card spot. With the win, they moved their record to 77-77, one game behind the White Sox and the same record as the Houston Astros for top spot in the American League West.
The Blue Jays already needed help, but now they need a lot over this final week and a half. Even if they get the help, they have to go 6-2 to even have a chance, something they haven’t shown capable of doing this season.
As for the game itself, it was awful, I want my Friday back. The bats were inept again, going 1-5 with runners in scoring position and managing just five hits. Myles Straw had two of them, hitting the team’s lone extra-base hit, a double.  Alejandro Kirk, Kazuma Okamoto, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had the other three hits.
Dylan Cease is running on fumes, only going two and two-thirds innings before getting pulled. He walked six and gave up four runs, but only one was earned. With a pair of bullpen days upcoming, this is just another thing that hampers their playoff hopes.
The Jays used five relievers. Brendan Cellucci retired all four batters he faced, including a massive strikeout with the bases loaded in the third to end the inning. He’s been perfect through nine batters. José Rodríguez also made his big league debut, allowing a double but pitching one and two-thirds scoreless innings while striking out two. Both pitcher’s performances were a rare bright spot in this game.
Braydon Fisher had a tough outing, giving up an earned run and two walks over his two-thirds of an inning. Brendon Little gave up an unearned run, walked two, and struck out two over his two-thirds of an inning. Joe Mantiply’s struggles post-injured list continued, giving up another earned run.
The Jays aren’t totally out of it yet, but it’ll take a miracle to even make it competitive, given the health of their starters, exhausted bullpen, and lethargic offence. They have a chance to right the ship with José Soriano on the mound in the middle game of the series. Cal Quantrill starts for the Rangers, and first pitch is at 7:05 PM ET.
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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