Blue Jays lose late lead as Garcia, Hoffman falter vs. Angels
At some point, Yimi García and Jeff Hoffman were going to have a game like this. They’d been so good for so much of the season, but a heavy workload continued Tuesday as the duo allowed three runs apiece in a Blue Jays’ loss to the Angels.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — At some point, Yimi García and Jeff Hoffman were going to have a game like this.
They’d been so good for so much of the season — and not only were the results unsustainable, the usage was too. But because the Toronto Blue Jays haven’t been able to create any separation offensively, García and Hoffman rank among the league leaders in games pitched.
On a cool night at Angel Stadium Tuesday, the heavy workload continued, but the encouraging results did not. García and Hoffman looked utterly ordinary in the series opener, allowing three earned runs apiece on the way to an 8-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
To be fair, an Ernie Clement error paved the way for the Angels’ six-run eighth and Blue Jays hitters failed to take advantage of some promising opportunities, but the Blue Jays did take a lead into the bottom of the eighth. At the same time, it’s hard to fault García and Hoffman, considering how essential they’ve been to any success the 2025 Blue Jays have had.
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Of the Blue Jays’ 16 wins, at least one of their top two relievers has pitched in 14 of them, the exceptions coming in a 6-1 win over the Red Sox on April 8 and a 6-3 win over Atlanta on April 15. Otherwise, the Blue Jays have been unable to win without García, Hoffman, or both.
At 16-19, the Blue Jays are reasonably close to .500 still, but this series against the Angels should be a chance to gain ground against a last-place team. Instead, they couldn’t create separation and their best relievers finally looked vulnerable.
Plus, while Hoffman threw just nine pitches, García needed 24, bringing his weekly total to 68 and raising the possibility that he’ll be unavailable Wednesday.
One solution, of course, would be power. But even after getting home runs from George Springer and Anthony Santander Tuesday, the Blue Jays rank last in the major leagues in homers. They’ve gradually been trending in the right direction here, but they’re not even close to where they need to be.
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On a more positive note, starter José Ureña pitched well in his Blue Jays debut, working around some hard contact to limit the Angels to two runs over 4.1 innings of work. He lived up to his reputation by throwing hard, with an average fastball of 95.8 m.p.h. but limited swing and miss on the way to just two strikeouts. Whatever the case, the combination worked.
At this point, it appears likely that Ureña gets more chances to start given his major-league contract and the status of some of the team’s other options. While Max Scherzer plans to face live hitters at Angel Stadium Wednesday, and his injured thumb has responded well lately, he cautions that the biggest test will be how he feels after pitching in rehab games.
There’s also Spencer Turnbull, who will be stretched out as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues, but he’s starting his season late as he recovers from last year’s lat injury so he’ll need at least a few starts at the minor-league level and may require up to 35 days preparing before the Blue Jays activate him.
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As for Jake Bloss, the pitching prospect recently described as MLB-ready by GM Ross Atkins, the news is far more concerning. The right-hander left Sunday’s start with an elbow issue and got imaging done in Toronto afterwards to determine next steps. While it’s too early to draw conclusions about where this leads, Bloss won’t make his next triple-A start.
Under those circumstances, Ureña has value, so it stands to reason he figures in prominently against the Mariners Sunday the next time the Blue Jays need a fifth starter.
