The Blue Jays loss to the Baltimore Orioles, coupled with a win from the Cleveland Guardians, have the Jays at two games back.
The Toronto Blue Jays kicked off a crucial three-game set with the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night, losing 7-4 at Rogers Centre.
With the loss, the Blue Jays are now 73-75. Because the Cleveland Guardians won, the Blue Jays are now two games back of the third and final wild card spot in the American League with 14 games to play.
Toronto remains one game ahead of the Orioles and the Texas Rangers for the first spot out.
The loss dropped Toronto's playoff odds by about six percent, and they now sit at 26 percent, according to Fangraphs. The Orioles, because of their extremely difficult schedule down the stretch, have just an eight percent playoff chance.
How this game unfolded
Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer started for the Blue Jays, surrendering six earned runs on seven hits over five innings. He gave up five runs in the top of the second and Toronto trailed 6-0 after two.
Scherzer is now 2-8 with a 6.38 ERA for the season. There are questions about whether or not this will be his final season in the big leagues.
Max Scherzer on Friday night. Nick Turchiaro-Imagn ImagesOffensively, the Jays clawed back, scoring single runs in the fourth and sixth before getting two more in the ninth.
Those runs scored via a two-out rally as Ernie Clement doubled and Brett Bateman hit his first major league home run. The Jays then put two more runners on with two outs, but Alejandro Kirk grounded into a forceout to end the contest.
Bateman's home run was actually his first home run in several years. He didn't homer at all in college at Minnesota and never homered in the minor leagues. Because of the recent DFA of Jesus Sanchez, Bateman seems to have the inside track at a roster spot in 2027.
What's upcoming on Saturday?
Spencer Miles, who was selected by the Blue Jays in the Rule-5 Draft last offseason, will start in a bullpen game. Miles has been excellent this season, going 6-2 with a 2.77 ERA. For all that's gone wrong in this season for John Schneider's team, he's been an undeniable success.
On the other side is the hard-throwing Kyle Bradish. The right-hander is 7-13 this season with a 3.91 ERA. His lower ERA suggests that he's been the victim of some bad luck and bad circumstance. He still features excellent stuff.
First pitch from Rogers Centre is set for 3:07 p.m. ET.
