Blue Jays extend win streak with well-rounded effort
Collectively, the Blue Jays are doing just enough right now. We haven’t seen the kind of one-sided wins that managers dream of, but Saturday in Seattle, they put together a well-rounded team effort in a victory over the Mariners.
SEATTLE — Collectively, the Blue Jays are doing just enough right now.
We haven’t seen the kind of one-sided wins that managers dream of, and the resulting stress on the bullpen continues taking a toll, but then again not everyone gets to play the Rockies.
At T-Mobile Park in Seattle Saturday, the Blue Jays put together a well-rounded team effort on their way to a 6-3 win over the Mariners that extends their winning streak to three and brings their season record to 19-20. Adding to the significance of the win, they navigated the late innings on a night some of their top relievers were unavailable.
“It’s amazing,” said Myles Straw, who drove in two in the eighth. “We all know they’re a good ballclub. To come take the first two playing fundamental baseball with pitching that’s been great (and) offence that’s starting to (produce). We’re running the bases, manufacturing runs, so it’s definitely a good feeling.”
Bowden Francis led the way by pitching into the seventh before Mason Fluharty and Jeff Hoffman combined to shut the Mariners down through the eighth and ninth. For Hoffman, it was his second save in two nights following two rough outings in Anaheim earlier this week. As for Fluharty, he struck out two and lowered his season ERA to 1.76.
As Francis put it, “Flu is a dog.”
And while leadoff hitter Bo Bichette got the offence started with a two-run home run, many of the biggest swings came from those further down the lineup. Catcher Alejandro Kirk put together a four-hit game, Addison Barger drove in the tying and go-ahead runs, and Straw broke things open with a two-run single.
“It’s cool when it’s kind of guys you don’t expect,” said manager John Schneider. “Whether it’s Barger on a good little streak here or Myles with a big knock or (Nathan Lukes) with a homer yesterday. It’s nice when guys contribute and we’re looking forward to the home runs — they’re gonna come — but I think the way we’re built, you have to win some games like that for sure.”
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That’s the kind of offensive performance the Blue Jays have been getting when they’re at their best, and likely a necessity considering they entered play Saturday ranked 30th among the MLB teams in home runs.
By beating the Mariners, the Blue Jays also ended Seattle’s streak of nine consecutive series wins.
“It was big,” Francis said. “Timely hitting and we just kept crawling back. There was just a good energy in the dugout that kept fuelling me. We fed off each other.”
On the mound, Francis put together one of his best outings of 2025, setting a season-high with 6.2 innings pitched. He had struggled over his last two outings, allowing a combined 11 runs in 7.1 total innings, but recovered this time, allowing just three earned runs while walking one and striking out five.
“He located his fastball better, for one,” Schneider said. “He had kind of gotten away from what he’s good at, meaning mixing his pitches and being a little deceptive with the fastball. When he’s good, he’s locating. Tonight he did and he was really efficient with his pitch count, too.”
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Considering the toll on the Blue Jays’ bullpen in recent days, those innings from Francis are especially valuable. After a week of heavy usage, each of Yimi Garcia, Brendon Little and Yariel Rodriguez were unavailable Saturday, leaving the Blue Jays without three top relief arms.
Now that Hoffman’s pitched four times in five days, he’ll likely be off Sunday, but such is life for a team that hasn’t won by more than three runs in more than a month.
“Perfect world, you stay away from Hoffman,” Schneider acknowledged. “He was pretty adamant about a save situation being in there. He was great, but yeah we were a little bit light.”
Until the Blue Jays’ hitters start creating more separation on the scoreboard, these games will remain the norm. The good news is, the likes of Fluharty, Rodriguez and Chad Green are proving to be viable late-game alternatives to the trio of Hoffman, Garcia and Little.
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Meanwhile, Anthony Santander was out of the lineup for the second consecutive game after crashing into the stands in pursuit of a foul ball Thursday night in Anaheim. Schneider described the outfielder’s left shoulder as “cranky” and “a little bit sore,” though it had improved enough that a pinch hit appearance was said to be possible if needed.
On Sunday, the Blue Jays will turn to Jose Urena against Bryce Miller as they look to get back to .500 and finish their west coast road trip on a winning note. Considering that the Blue Jays were on a four-game losing streak just a couple days ago, that’s a pretty good place to be.
“We went through a little tough stretch, but there hasn’t been any panic,” Straw said. “No one’s down, we just show up the next day with a positive attitude and try to win a ballgame. It’s a good feeling not to feel like we’re down, even when things aren’t as good as we feel like they should be.”
