TORONTO — Every game for the Toronto Blue Jays feels like some variation of 2-2 in the seventh inning, the margins so thin that any little moment can be the difference between a win and a loss.
That was certainly the weekend against the American-League leading Detroit Tigers, who capped a tight and entertaining series by taking Sunday’s rubber match 3-2.
In yet their latest tight and grinding affair of a young season filled with such outings, the Blue Jays fell behind on Spencer Torkelson’s two-run double in the first, eked out a pair in the fourth to tie the game, fell behind again on Torkelson’s RBI single in the seventh and squandered a pair of chances to rally before a Rogers Centre crowd of 36,046.
Along the way they let Jackson Jobe survive a shaky start, although Akil Baddoo played a key role there by leaping against the left-field wall to rob Daulton Varsho of extra bases after the first two batters reached in the first and following that with a sliding catch on an Alejandro Kirk smash and a quick relay to second to double off Bo Bichette.
The Blue Jays also put two on with none out in the fifth only to come up empty, magnifying the Tigers’ pivotal rally in the seventh, during which Andy Ibanez’s dribbler to third put two on for Torkelson, whose single to second might not have brought a run home if hadn’t gone to centre and Varsho, whose throwing still appears limited by last summer’s shoulder surgery.
Under normal circumstances, Varsho might have had a play at the plate on Gleyber Torres, but his relay back to infield was only 67.0 m.p.h., which was his third-hardest throw of the season but well off his 2024 average of 83.7 m.p.h. He’s only cracked 70 m.p.h. once so far — hitting 74.3 on a May 8 sacrifice fly — and that’s surely something rival clubs have picked up on in their scouting.
Had the Blue Jays been better with runners in scoring position Sunday, it would not have mattered, but as they went 2-for-12, getting only RBI singles from Kirk and Ernie Clement in the fourth, it once again raised the stakes on each moment.
They’re now 4-2 in a homestand that resumes Tuesday with the first of three against the San Diego Padres.
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Jose Berrios gave the Blue Jays six strong innings of two-run ball, an essential contribution after an aggressive game of bullpenning in Saturday’s walk-off 2-1 win that featured three innings from starter Eric Lauer followed by five relievers.
He looked shaky to start, allowing singles to the first two left-handed batters he faced before Torkelson clubbed his two-run double to open the scoring. But he settled from there, working out of jams in the second and fifth innings, allowing Blue Jays hitters to undo the early deficit.
Berrios also got the best of his brother-in-law Javier Baez, whose resurgence this year has helped drive the Tigers’ early-season success. Baez lined up softly to shortstop after the first two batters reached in the second, lined out to second in the fourth and then struck out to end the sixth.
The two trained at the same facility in Puerto Rico over the winter, with Berrios saying Baez “was more focused because he went to get healthy quicker (from hip surgery last summer) and he did that. He also made some adjustments hitting-wise. … He attacked what he needed to attack in his weaknesses. … He’s been having fun out there and when Javy’s doing good out there, I think MLB is better.”
Save for familial faceoffs.
“We always respect and love each other, but when we compete, we compete,” said Berrios. “After the game, we can go back to being family members.”