Jays Split Opener with Baltimore

 

Photo From Yahoo Sports

The Blue Jays' 2025 season is upon us, and fans are once again hopeful, thanks to the excitement of new additions like Santander and Giménez. The Jays opened the season at home for the first time since 2022. José Berríos was given the Opening Day start, and it was well deserved, as he had been locked in all Spring Training. Unfortunately, his dominant spring didn’t carry over to Opening Day, as he had a rough outing at the Dome—Baltimore lit him up, scoring five runs off him. The Jays turned to the bullpen after five innings, but things didn’t get any better, as the relief corps imploded, and Baltimore went on to win Game 1 of the series 12-2.

Game 2 of the series aired on Apple TV Plus—an awful broadcast—but Kevin Gausman made his season debut. Things went much smoother for Toronto, as Gausman delivered six strong innings. More importantly, the bats finally came alive. The Jays chased Baltimore’s starter in the fourth inning and never looked back, cruising to an 8-2 victory. Fans left the game feeling confident heading into the back half of the series.

Game 3 took place on Saturday afternoon, and there was a buzz in the crowd as future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer made his regular-season debut for Toronto. We all know about the injury issues the two-time champion has dealt with throughout his career, but he was coming off a solid Grapefruit League performance where he consistently pitched with control and worked deep into his starts. Unfortunately, on Saturday, Scherzer lasted only three innings, giving up two monster home runs. Things didn’t seem too bad, as the Jays responded to the two-run deficit by scoring four of their own. But then Richard Lovelady came in from the bullpen, and the rest of the game was miserable. Lovelady hit the first two batters he faced, followed that up with a walk, and then gave up a bases-clearing double, handing Baltimore the lead. They wouldn’t look back, winning Game 3 by a score of 9-5.

On the morning of Sunday’s Game 4, Toronto announced that Lovelady had been designated for assignment—baseball’s fancy way of saying, “You’re cut.” The always reliable Chris Bassitt took the mound, and he did exactly what was needed, giving Toronto six efficient innings while throwing 106 pitches. The Jays rewarded him with three runs, thanks to home runs from Andrés Giménez and Tyler Heineman, who, until Sunday, hadn’t hit a home run since 2019. Jeff Hoffman came in to close out Game 4, securing his first save as a Blue Jay, and Toronto won 3-1, splitting the series.

There were more positives than negatives to take away from the series, but it’s still frustrating because the Jays’ bats did enough to win it. We all know the AL East is going to be highly competitive, so dropping games against division opponents could prove costly. However, Toronto’s offense seems to be clicking early, with Bo Bichette currently tied for the league lead in hits. Also, moving George Springer into the seventh spot in the order seems to be working so far—he looks more comfortable at the plate, picking up four clutch hits for Toronto. It’s a very small sample size, but this was the offense we fans were praying for all last season.

Toronto now begins a three-game series against the Washington Nationals on Monday night, and I, along with many other fans, feel the Jays must win at least two out of three—if not sweep. Tonight’s game will be particularly interesting, as Bowden Francis is scheduled to get the start. It’ll be worth watching to see if his strong performance from the second half of last season carries over to this one.

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