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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays survive late Guardians rally in 5-3 victory
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Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Apr 25, 2026, 18:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 25, 2026, 18:29 EDT
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They don’t ask how, they ask how many.
On Saturday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays played the second of three games in their series against the Cleveland Guardians. It wasn’t pretty, but the Blue Jays defeated them 5-3 to tie up the series. Let’s take a look at what went on in this game.
Like Friday evening, the Guardians took the lead. In the top of the third, Juan Brito led off the inning with a double. A ground out from Canadian Bo Naylor moved Brito to third, and he was cashed in with an RBI ground out.
Kazuma Okamoto had a tough start to April, but he’s been hitting the ball well in the last week. On a 1-1 count in the bottom of the fourth, the third baseman hit a nearly identical home run to his long ball on Friday to tie it at one.
Neither team scored in the fifth inning, and Kevin Gausman got through the sixth without allowing a run, setting up the Blue Jays for a big bottom of the sixth. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. led off the inning with a single, then stole second base. Thanks to an Okamoto single, the Blue Jays had the runners on the corners with no outs. After a strikeout, Daulton Varsho hit an RBI single to give the Blue Jays their first lead of the game.
Another strikeout gave the Blue Jays two outs, but Andrés Giménez hit a clutch double to the opposite field to score two. Gausman nearly got through seven innings for the first time this season, but gave up a solo home run to David Fry. He was replaced by Mason Fluharty, who struck out Naylor.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Blue Jays loaded the bases with no outs, but after Okamoto walked to drive in another run, the Jays flew out, grounded out, and struck out to end the threat. The Jays carried a 5-2 lead into the top of the ninth.
Louis Varland had the opportunity to close. He got José Ramírez to fly out, but Rhys Hoskins and George Valera hit back-to-back singles. For the first time all season, Varland gave up an earned run as Kyle Manzardo hit a double, with Varsho just barely missing catching the ball. Varland walked Brito, but struck out Naylor and Brayan Rocchio for his second career save.

Takeaways…

Louis Varland wasn’t perfect, but with the go-ahead run on first, he struck out the final two batters he faced. Unfortunately, that earned run was the first one he’s allowed all season, but Varland still has a sparkling 0.64 ERA. He’s earned himself another save opportunity, even if he ran into some trouble.
Tyler Rogers has been nothing short of terrific since joining the Blue Jays. On Saturday, he struck out a batter and generated two ground outs to bring his ERA down to 0.68. Mason Fluharty struck out the lone batter he faced as well.
Kevin Gausman saved the Blue Jays’ bullpen. For the first time this season, the veteran pitched into the seventh inning, giving up just two earned runs and striking out three. It wasn’t as dominant as his first or second start, but he was still great.
The Jays had another three-run inning, their third in their last four games. Tied at one in the bottom of the sixth, the Blue Jays played small ball until Andrés Giménez’s clutch double. The shortstop leads the Blue Jays with 16 RBIs.
Giménez’s six doubles are the second-most on the Blue Jays. It’s only half of what Ernie Clement has, as he hit his 12th double of the season in the bottom of the first. Unfortunately, he was stranded. Clement, Myles Straw, and Kazuma Okamoto all had two-hit games.
Okamoto’s home run in the fourth inning was his fifth, which leads the team. Three of those home runs have come in the past week. He’s starting to look like the player the Blue Jays signed.
The Blue Jays’ bats have come around the past week or so, but there are still concerns. Coming into this game, the Blue Jays had 24 at-bats with the bases loaded. They went 0-3 in the bottom of the seventh, making them 3-27 with the bases loaded, a .111 batting average.
Thankfully, they were able to find a way to win despite stranded the bases loaded in the seventh. That positions the Jays for a chance to win their second consecutive series, with the rubber match coming on Sunday at 1:37 PM ET. Patrick Corbin is expected to start.
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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