TORONTO — There was a point in Monday’s game where it actually looked like the Toronto Blue Jays could pressure Cristopher Sanchez against the ropes.
The Philadelphia Phillies left-hander and NL Cy Young Award front-runner has been on an insane run over the past month, having allowed just one run over his past 46 innings entering the day.
And yet, in the sixth inning, having already got to him for two runs, the Blue Jays appeared poised for even more damage. Yohendrick Pinango led off the frame with a 111.6-m.p.h. rocket off the right-field wall and then advanced to third on an error by Adolis Garcia.
The smash electrified the Rogers Centre crowd of 37,178 as they sensed the possibility of a comeback against Sanchez with the top of the Blue Jays’ lineup due up.
That sequence was among the key moments in the Blue Jays’ 5-2 loss to the Phillies in the opener of a three-game set. With the loss, Toronto fell to 32-35.
The sixth inning was an example of Sanchez’s dominance but also put a magnifying glass on key members of the Blue Jays’ lineup who simply aren’t clicking right now.
Sanchez’s devastating changeup is among the best weapons in baseball and he threw it four times to Springer before the leadoff hitter swung weakly and missed for his third strikeout of the night.
Following a 2025 campaign in which he finished third in MLB with a .959 OPS, Springer owns a .626 OPS this year and has looked lost at the plate at times.
The same goes for Guerrero Jr., who went down 0-2 against Sanchez in the sixth inning before fouling off a pitch and then striking out looking on an inside sinker.
Guerrero Jr., had another chance at damage in the eighth inning, when he represented the tying run as the Blue Jays put two runners on base against Phillies reliever Brad Keller. However, he ultimately struck out with an off-balance swing on a sweeper from the right-hander.
Guerrero Jr., like Springer, went 0-for-4 on Monday and is hitless in his last 14 at-bats.
Things won’t get any easier for the Blue Jays’ offence the rest of the series, with Zack Wheeler and Jesus Luzardo set to take the mound for the Phillies.