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Out of town scoreboard: Blue Jays continue to lose ground as Guardians win sixth consecutive game
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Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Aug 26, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 26, 2026, 12:37 EDT
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Tuesday’s slate of games were a mixed bag for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Their struggles with runners in scoring position persisted on Tuesday, going 1-11 while stranding eight. That lone hit wasn’t even a positive, as Nathan Lukes was thrown out trying to advance to second. Instead of bringing the tying run to the plate, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the game ended, and the Jays fell 5-3.
Despite the Kansas City Royals’ season record, this game was never going to be easy, as they’re now on a nine-game winning streak. Still, it feels as if the Blue Jays should’ve done far better and they kind of beat themselves.
That said, how did the other teams fighting for a wild card spot perform on Tuesday? Let’s find out.

Out of town scoreboard for August 25th

The Cleveland Guardians are the team that the Blue Jays are chasing for the final wild card spot. They entered Tuesday’s game on a five game winning streak, which looked to be in jeopardy once the Los Angeles Angels jumped out to a five-run lead through two innings. 
But the Guardians fought back, tying the game in the fifth, before the Angels took a 6-5 lead shortly after. Down to their final five outs, José Ramírez drove in a game-tying run in the top of the eighth, before the Guardians cashed in two runners in the 10th to win 8-6.
This is bad news for the Blue Jays, as the Guardians now have a 67-66 record, three games ahead of them. The series finale is on Wednesday afternoon at 4:07 PM ET. Joey Cantillo (3.73 ERA) is set to start for the Guardians, Grayson Rodriguez (6.41 ERA) for the Angels.
The other American League East team fighting for the final wild card spot are the Baltimore Orioles, and they smashed the St. Louis Cardinals 13-1. After two innings, the two teams were scoreless, but the Orioles put up a four spot in the third, then an eight spot in the fifth. Former Blue Jay Chris Bassitt went six and two-third innings with five strikeouts.
With the win, the Orioles have a half game lead over the Blue Jays, but remain two and a half behind the Guardians for the final wild card spot. They’ll play again on Wednesday at 7:45 PM ET, with Kyle Bradish (3.70 ERA) set to start against Cardinals’ Michael McGreevy (3.54 ERA).
The Tigers snapped their six-game losing streak, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1. In the top of the fourth, the Rays took a 1-0 lead, but the Tigers responded with three runs in their half of the fifth.
Of the eight teams, they’re the furthest back of a wild card, sitting four and a half games behind the Guardians with a 62-70 record. Their next game is at 1:10 PM ET on Wednesday, with Troy Melton (1.70 ERA) getting the ball against Freddy Peralta (5.33 ERA).
The Seattle Mariners have been playing significantly better the past 10 games, and they won their second consecutive game against the Phillies on Tuesday. They exchanged a run in the second, but the rest of the scoring came in the final four innings. In the bottom of the sixth, the Mariners took a 2-1 lead, then added two more runs in the seventh to win 4-1.
Now 7-3 in their last 10, the Mariners have stormed back to a 64-69 record, three games behind the Guardians for the final wild card spot. They have an identical record to the Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins as well. Their series finale begins at 4:10 PM ET, with Byran Woo (4.10 ERA) getting the ball against the Phillies’ Jesús Luzardo (3.35 ERA).
The other team to pick up a victory on Tuesday were the Houston Astros, who sat a game and a half ahead of the Blue Jays entering play. Hitting the road to take on the New York Yankees in The Bronx, the two teams played a back and forth game that the Astros eventually won 9-7.
Entering the top of the eighth, the Yankees held on to a 6-5 lead, but the Astros put up a three spot. The Bronx Bombers returned fire with a run in their half of the eighth, but the comeback attempt fell short as the Astros tacked on another run in the ninth.
Wednesday’s game between the two teams has a 7:05 PM ET start time, with Peter Lambert (3.68 ERA) starting for the Astros and Elmer Rodríguez (4.76 ERA) starting for the Yankees. However, the Astros have regained top spot in the American League West.
That’s because the Texas Rangers fell 11-7 to the Chicago White Sox. They fell in a hole early, giving up six runs in the bottom of the first. In the fourth, the White Sox scored twice to make it 8-2, before the Rangers scored three times in the top of the fifth. 
The White Sox responded with two runs, before another three spot was put on the board by the Rangers in the sixth. Aside from a run in the bottom of the sixth, neither team scored for the remainder of the game.
This loss sees the Rangers drop a game behind the Guardians to a 66-67 record. They’ll wrap up their series on Wednesday evening with MacKenzie Gore (4.26 ERA) getting the start. He’ll be opposed by Sean Burke (3.27 ERA). This game has a 7:40 PM ET start time.
As for the Twins, they fell 4-2 to the Athletics. The latter scored twice in the bottom of the second, then again in the sixth to take a 4-0 lead. In the top of the seventh, the Twins responded with a two-run inning of their own, and even brought the go-ahead run to the plate that inning, but didn’t get a baserunner after the seventh.
Their series also wraps up on Wednesday, as Connor Prielipp (5.57 ERA) is set to start for the Twins against J.T. Ginn (3.60 ERA). This game has a 9:05 PM ET start time, and the Twins enter play three games behind the Guardians.
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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