The Blue Jays lost the first game of a double header on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Toronto Blue Jays lost the first game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday at Camden Yards by a score of 4-2.
With the loss, the Blue Jays are now 77-81 with four games to play. They are officially eliminated from playoff contention. They cannot catch the Chicago White Sox, who currently hold the third and final wild card spot.
Furthermore, the loss assures that the Blue Jays will not finish the season above .500. Even winning their last four games would only get the Jays to the 81-81 mark.
In this game, starting pitcher Max Scherzer took the loss after giving up four earned runs in five innings. He struck out seven and walked three. He's now 3-9 with a 6.14 ERA.
Scherzer may come back and pitch on Sunday on short rest, but if he doesn't, that could be the final start of his Hall of Fame career. His future has not been determined, but at 42 years old, nobody would blame Scherzer if he elected to hang up his cleats.
An eight-time All-Star, Scherzer is also a three-time Cy Young winner and a two-time World Series champion.
A disappointing end
After getting to the World Series in 2025, the Blue Jays were supposed to compete for a title again this season, so to not even make the playoffs is an extreme failure.
Last year's team was just one win away from winning the organization's first title since 1993, and the Jays looked even better on paper this year after adding Kazuma Okamoto, Tyler Rogers, Cody Ponce and Dylan Cease.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (31) warms up pregame at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Jamie LeBlanc-Imagn ImagesPonce got hurt in his first start of the year, but the other three largely delivered. Cease is going to finish in the Top 3 of American League Cy Young voting and Okamoto has hit more than 30 homers.
The offensive regression from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been real, and the injuries have played a major part in this season's missteps as well.
Ponce only made one start, while Cease, Guerrero, Alejandro Kirk, George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Shane Bieber (2x), Scherzer (multiple), Patrick Corbin and Trey Yesavage (2x) all spent time on the injured list as well. Addison Barger (nine games), Anthony Santander (0), Jose Berrios (0) and Bowden Francis (0) have hardly played this season.
A long offseason coming
The Blue Jays will spend the entirety of the winter trying to remedy this situation, though with the MLB Lockout looming, there's only so long to get answers.
