Series Recap: Blue Jays enact revenge over Royals by taking two of three
Photo credit: © Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Sep 7, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 7, 2026, 17:36 EDT
Another series, another series victory for the Toronto Blue Jays.
After taking two of three from the Cleveland Guardians in a crucial series, the Blue Jays’ nine-game road trip continued this past weekend in Missouri. Well out of the race, the Kansas City Royals managed to take two of three from the Blue Jays in Toronto in late August, but the Blue Jays returned the favour.
Friday’s game saw the Blue Jays jump out to a 4-0 lead before the Royals even got a chance to bat. Alejandro Kirk and Kazuma Okamoto each drove in one, while Ernie Clement’s 30th double of the season tacked on two more runs. The Royals responded with a run of their own in their half of the first, but the Jays restored that four-run lead immediately.
It wasn’t until the top of the sixth before either team scored again, as Myles Straw executed a perfect bunt to drive in the runner from third. Later that inning, George Springer hit a two-RBI double to make it 8-1. With the game out of reach, the starters were taken off their feet, and Sean Keys hit his second career-home run, which was matched by a solo home run off the bat of Vinnie Pasquantino.
This game turned into an impromptu bullpen game, as Jameson Taillon departed after just two innings of work due to a forearm injury. Joe Mantiply, Braydon Fisher, Brendon Little, and Michael Lorenzen all pitched, with the latter picking up a save thanks to hurling three innings.
Saturday’s game saw far less scoring, but the Blue Jays managed to win it nonetheless. The two teams exchanged two runs in the top of the first. In the third, the Blue Jays took the lead back thanks to an Okamoto RBI double, but John Rave hit a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth.
The score stood that way until the seventh. With two outs and a runner on second, Nathan Lukes grounded out to Bobby Witt Jr., which surely looked like the end of the inning. However, the Platinum Glove winner committed an error to keep the inning alive. Next up was Okamoto, who drove in a run thanks to his fourth hit of the game.
That turned out to be the game winning run, as Tyler Rogers escaped a jam in the eighth and Louis Varland picked up his 33rd save in 34 opportunities this season. It wasn’t Max Scherzer’s best start, surrendering three earned run over five and two-thirds innings, but he did enough to get the job done.
Unfortunately, the Blue Jays were unable to complete the sweep thanks to a 6-1 defeat on Sunday. Spencer Arrighetti had another rough outing, giving up six earned runs over four and two-thirds innings. It wouldn’t have mattered much anyway, as the Blue Jays struggled to get anything going off Randy Dobnak, aside from Brett Bateman’s three-hit game and Josh Smith’s fourth home run since the trade.
As they say, you can’t win them all. It’s a shame, as the Guardians won their game thanks to their third-walk off in the four-game series against the Tigers. That means the Jays are now a game behind the wild card spot heading into their series against the Athletics on Monday.
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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