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Instant Reaction: Poor defence sinks Blue Jays in 8-2 loss to Marlins
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Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Aidan Sinclair
May 26, 2026, 06:00 EDTUpdated: May 25, 2026, 23:03 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays began a three-game series on Monday night against the National League’s Miami Marlins.
After losing the final game of the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, as well as losing Dylan Cease and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the process, the Blue Jays struggled once again on Monday. The series opener saw the Marlins take an 8-2 decision after sweeping their weekend series against Bo Bichette and the New York Mets. Let’s take a look at what happened in this game. 
Trey Yesavage was on the mound for the Jays, coming off his best start of the year against the Yankees in the Bronx. The right-handed pitcher reached the six innings for the first time this season and carried a 1.07 ERA into Monday’s outing. He immediately surrendered a run after Xavier Edwards led off the game with a double, then was driven in by an Otto López on a one-out sacrifice fly. The former Blue Jay gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead. 
Yesavage cruised through his next three innings before fellow Canadian Owen Caissie drove in Javier Sanoja with a double of his own, giving the Marlins a 2-0 advantage. The Jays cut the lead in half, as Yohendrick Piñango hit an RBI single to cash in Lenyn Sosa.
But then the rails began to fall off in the sixth inning, which was no fault of Yesavage. With two outs in the inning, Toronto native Liam Hicks drew a walk,  who was followed by Kyle Stowers. The Marlin hit a fly ball that should have ended the inning, but instead, Andrés Giménez and Yohendrick Piñango converged, and the ball fell in no man’s land. That allowed Hicks to score from first, giving the Marlins a 3-1 lead. 
The defensive woes continued, as Piñango suffered another miscue in left field by failing to read a Sanoja line drive off the bat and letting the ball fly over his head. Both Stowers and Jakob Marsee scored to give the Marlins a 5-1 lead. In the end, Yesavage finished the night going 6.2 innings (a season high), striking out six, walking two, and allowing five earned runs, lifting his ERA to a still respectable 2.25. 
The Blue Jays got a run back in the bottom of the sixth in the form of Ernie Clement’s fourth home run of the season, but they gave up another three runs shortly after. In the eighth inning, Tyler Rogers was summoned to keep the Marlins lineup at bay, but due to some unfortunate circumstances, similarly to Yesavage, he was unable to do so.
After an infield single and a walk, Stowers hit a double brought home Hicks, and a Marsee grounded out to third base to score. López. Now 7-2, Adam Macko entered the game to face the lefty Caissie, his World Baseball Classic teammate. Caissie got the better of Macko, pulling a single through the right side to bring Sanoja home. It was the eighth and final run of the night for the Marlins.
With the Blue Jays out of the game, the recently recalled Tanner Andrews made his big league debut at the top of the ninth. Andrews replaced Dylan Cease on the 26-man roster after the Blue Jays’ ace landed on the 15-day injured list. Before Monday’s game, Andrews spent 11 years in the minor leagues and was an original draft pick of the Marlins, but had a good debut by collecting a clean 1-2-3 inning in his first outing. 
Janson Junk started the game for the Marlins on Monday night, entering the contest with a rough 5.07 ERA on the season. He held the Blue Jays’ lineup scoreless through his first four innings before Piñango’s RBI single.
The Marlins’ pitcher finished his night going five innings, allowing one run on eight hits (all of which were singles), striking out three and walking none. Lake Bachar entered the game in the sixth inning and was greeted by Clement’s solo home run, which ended up being the second and final run of the night for the Jays. 
The offence has been front and centre of the struggles for the Blue Jays in 2026, and it continued Monday night. Though they out-hit the Marlins 10-9, their lone XBH came from Clement’s solo shot. If they want any chance of winning this series, the bats will need to start hitting for power in the next two games. 
One bright spot on the night was Nathan Lukes, who made his return from the injured list after missing a month due to a hamstring injury. He went 3/4 with three singles, while also getting hit in the head by a pitch from left-handed Marlins reliever Andrew Nardi, the last thing Blue Jays fans wanted to see. He stayed in the game and appeared fine; a sigh of relief for a team that has been plagued with injuries all year. 
Tuesday’s game will be a bullpen game for the Jays, with Spencer Miles likely to work the majority of the middle innings, a role he has thrived in in recent weeks. Braydon Fisher is set to start the game as an opener. On the mound for the Marlins is 2022 Cy Young winner Sandy Alcéntara. Tuesday’s game has a 7:07 pm EST start as the Jays aim to avoid a series loss at home.
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