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Series Recap: Blue Jays drop another series but took positive steps in the finale against the Diamondbacks
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Photo credit: © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Apr 20, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 20, 2026, 16:03 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays’ series losing streak now sits at six.
They haven’t won a series since the season opener against the Athletics back in late March. Since then, they’ve lost to the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, and now the Arizona Diamondbacks. To make matters worse, they won the first game of the Twins and Brewers’ series.
That wasn’t the case in the Diamondbacks series. Friday saw the Blue Jays jump out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth, but the 2023 National League pennant winners tied it in their half of the inning. Then, the Diamondbacks took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth. 
The Blue Jays got to within one thanks to Myles Straw’s first home run of the season in the top of the sixth, but the Diamondbacks added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh. Both teams scored a run in the eighth, with the Diamondbacks winning the series opener 6-3. To make matters worse, Daulton Varsho left this game with a knee injury.
On Saturday, the Blue Jays scored first, as Jesús Sánchez drove in Nathan Lukes. Like Friday’s game, the Diamondbacks tied the game at one in their half of the inning. Max Scherzer pitched well in this game, going six innings with two earned runs. That second earned run came in the bottom of the fifth, as Alek Thomas hit a RBI double.
This time, the Jays answered back, as Kazuma Okamoto hit a two-out single on a 1-2 count to drive in Eloy Jiménez, squaring up the game at two. Then, the bottom of the eighth happened. Jeff Hoffman came in early, giving up a soft single on the second pitch he threw. Shortly after, the Diamondbacks hit another soft single to put a second runner on, with Hoffman walking the third batter he faced to load the bases with no outs.
If you know anything about the 2026 Blue Jays, you know what happened next. Hoffman fell behind in the count, and on the 3-1 pitch, Corbin Carroll hit a grand slam to put the Diamondbacks up 6-2. Nathan Lukes hit a single with two outs in the top of the ninth, but Ernie Clement struck out to end the game.
Throughout the 2026 season, the Jays have shown glimpses of what made them so good last season. You can point to their sweep of the Athletics to begin the season or their comeback wins against the Dodgers and Twins in back-to-back games. Sunday’s game was a positive step in the right direction.
The first eight batters in the game reached, the first seven of which were thanks to hits. By the end of the top of the first, the Blue Jays had an 8-0 lead. Coming into this game, they were just 1-20 when they loaded the bases, but they had two of them in just this one inning.
Another positive was Kazuma Okamoto’s game, as he hit a double in the first and his third home run of the season in the top of the third. That was Okamoto’s first home run since the Colorado Series back in March. Not only that, but this home run also came on a breaking ball. The Jays’ 10th run came on a sacrifice fly, while the Diamondbacks added on four throughout the game. That included a two-run home run with Mason Fluharty on the mound.
Next up for the Blue Jays, they head to Anaheim to face the Los Angeles Angels for a three-game series. Funnily enough, they were walked off on May 7th, 2025, dropping their record to 16-20. They won the series final, then swept the Seattle Mariners. They could use something like that in the coming weeks.
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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