Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Oct 18, 2026 7:00 PM
We've already looked at how the Jays compared to the Tampa Bay Rays. Now, we take a look at the other side of the ALCS.
The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 on Saturday night in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field. Game 5 is set for Sunday night, in Cleveland, with the winner of the series advancing to the World Series.
It was just one year ago that the Toronto Blue Jays were playing in their own ALCS - and winning to advance to the World Series. But the wheels fell off this year, with the Jays going 79-83 and finishing last in the American League East. And though they had a chance at the playoffs until the final week of the year, things never felt quite right for Toronto.
So, how far away from these two teams were the Jays in 2026? We already looked at how the Jays compared to the Rays, so let's take a look to see how they compared to Cleveland, who they were battling with for a playoff spot down the stretch.
| Category | Guardians | Blue Jays |
|---|---|---|
| Runs scored | 678 (24th) | 648 (Last) |
| Doubles | 249 (15th) | 259 (11th) |
| Homers | 162 (27th) | 152 (Last) |
| Walks Taken | 574 (7th) | 459 (29th) |
| Strikeouts Taken | 1271 (5th-Best) | 1145 (Best) |
| BA with RISP | .254 (14th) | .292 (Best) |
| Stolen Bases | 146 (7th) | 75 (27th) |
| ERA | 3.77 (8th) | 3.90 (9th) |
| HR Allowed | 175 (13th-best) | 167 (7th-best) |
| Walks Given | 530 (13th) | 594 (24th) |
| Fielding Percentage | .985 | .983 |
On the offensive side
Frankly, the Guardians were one of the lightest-hitting teams in baseball this season. Sure, they were better than the Jays in multiple areas, but they really weren't that much better. They had the same run-scoring issues and lack of power issues that Toronto had, though the walks taken and stolen bases secured were certainly a positive factor for them.
If you can't hit all that well, creating chaos and giving yourself some additional chances with the bases on balls are a way to help. The Jays weren't able to do that.
On the pitching side
Both teams featured two of the best closers in baseball and the rest of the numbers are fairly similar too. The Guardians are known as a pitching-first team, and though they have gotten hot right now, they also weren't exponentially better than the Jays there either.
So what was the difference?
Well, the hitting, fielding and pitching numbers don't indicate a giant chasm between these two teams, so where does the difference come in? For me, it's health. The Blue Jays were one of the most injured teams in baseball this season, missing more than 2,000 total days of play with more than 30 injured list stints.
The Guardians, on the other hand, only missed 474 days because of injury, the fewest days missed of any team. They had only 14 separate injured list stints.
They say the best ability is availability and the Guardians certainly had it, whereas the Jays did not.
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