{"id":687929,"date":"2026-05-23T05:37:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/687929\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T05:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:37:15","slug":"with-reinforcements-coming-toronto-blue-jays-show-signs-that-theyre-returning-to-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/687929\/","title":{"rendered":"With reinforcements coming, Toronto Blue Jays show signs that they’re returning to form"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 The Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> always seemed to be running uphill over the first 50 games of the season. <\/p>\n

A 23-27 record over the period was below expectations for the reigning American League champions. The good news for the Blue Jays is they\u2019re in the thick of the wild-card mix and several injured players are getting closer to a return.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave we played up to our expectations? No. Have we played up to our ability? No,\u201d said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. \u201cBut you really trust that over the course of a season, that evens out. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut you don\u2019t want to have that even out too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toronto (24-27) extended its winning streak to three games on Friday night with a 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Kevin Gausman<\/a> was solid over 6 2\/3 innings and Yohendrick Pinango<\/a> and George Springer<\/a> provided two-run doubles. Toronto scored three runs in the third inning and tacked on three more in the eighth.<\/p>\n

\u201cA couple big swings early and taking advantage of some of their mistakes,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cThe eighth inning was nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s pitching has been reliable this year and team defence has looked better of late. But the bats have been quiet as the offence that led the AL in several categories last season has struggled to find its form.<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays managed only five hits on Friday night but it was enough to improve their home record to 14-11.<\/p>\n

Only one player \u2014 third baseman Kazuma Okamoto<\/a> \u2014 has reached the 10-homer mark and he shares the RBI lead (27) with light-hitting Andres Gimenez<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Entering Friday\u2019s game, the Blue Jays were 26th in slugging percentage (. 370) and on-base percentage (. 306) and 22nd in home runs (45).<\/p>\n

Schneider said the team appears to be trending in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the offensive identity part is getting there,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you\u2019re missing guys, right? We\u2019re missing key guys in our lineup. That\u2019s not a shock to anyone, but I think just finding a way for everyone to do what they\u2019re good at has been a little bit inconsistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Injury woes have been a constant theme this season but catcher Alejandro Kirk<\/a> (thumb), outfielders Addison Barger<\/a> (elbow) and Nathan Lukes<\/a> (hamstring), and pitchers Max Scherzer<\/a> (forearm), Yimi Garcia<\/a> (elbow) and Shane Bieber<\/a> (elbow) are all making strides. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that we need to just focus on having good at-bats,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cI think when you get some guys back in the lineup, I think it allows you to be a little bit more flexible.\u201d<\/p>\n

With 10 of the AL\u2019s 15 teams at or below the .500 mark, the Blue Jays started the day just 1 1\/2 games out of a wild-card spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not early, you know what I mean?,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cBut I mean it\u2019s still a season, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Such is the beauty of a 162-game campaign that lasts until late September. A team can be mediocre over the first 50 \u2014 or even the first 100 \u2014 games of the season and still end up being a contender. <\/p>\n

Former Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch with fellow alum Edwin Encarnacion, was on Toronto\u2019s 2015 team that was 50-51 in late July and ended up winning the East Division title.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerspective is everything and how you let it affect you,\u201d Bautista said. \u201cMore importantly is what the team believes in (and) what they can do when they hit their stride, when things are going well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gausman was his usual steady self against the Pirates, allowing one earned run, one walk and six hits while striking out eight.<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays and Pirates continue their interleague series on Saturday afternoon at Rogers Centre.<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2026. <\/p>\n

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 The Toronto Blue Jays always seemed to be running uphill over the first 50 games of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":687930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,82,3302],"class_list":["post-687929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=687929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/687930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}