ATLANTA – All things considered, this has been quite a week for the Toronto Blue Jays.
They’ve played seven games since they left Toronto last week, winning three and losing four. On the surface that sounds pretty normal. In reality, however, that’s not the case.
There have been many firsts, like the first career home run for Charles McAdoo, the first career save for Braydon Fisher, the first career start for Adam Macko and the first career appearance for Chad Dallas.
The trip has also included low points, like a painful blown save by Jeff Hoffman in Baltimore, a fan throwing a baseball off Jesus Sanchez’s hand and struggles from the likes of Austin Voth and Hayden Juenger, both jettisoned from the roster before they could get lockers at Rogers Centre.
But while the trip included its share of emotional lows, there were some encouraging moments and few if any were bigger than the win over Chris Sale and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park Thursday to take the series finale 7-2 and head back home 30-33.
Clearly, there’s more work ahead – and the upcoming homestand against the Orioles, Phillies and Yankees will provide immediate tests for a team still rolling with a three-man rotation and two bullpen games.
But give the Blue Jays credit on two fronts Thursday. Not only did they find ways to get to Sale for three runs on ten hits, they limited the NL’s best team to only two runs on a bullpen day built around Dallas making his MLB debut.
Offensively, McAdoo drove in the first run of the game with a single up the middle against Sale, the future Hall of Famer who entered play with a 2.01 ERA. Soon afterwards, Myles Straw drove in two with another single to centre and the Blue Jays had a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
As for Dallas, he impressed in a bulk role following opener Mason Fluharty, covering 3.2 innings while allowing one run on two hits and recording the first two strikeouts of his career. It’s been an unusual week for the 25-year-old right-hander, but he responded well to the challenge.
After Dallas left the game, the Blue Jays turned to their leverage relievers and Tyler Rogers, Hoffman, Fisher and Louis Varland combined to allow just one run – a Mauricio Dubon solo shot off Fisher – in four innings.
As for the Blue Jays’ rotation, reinforcements are on the way, starting with Simeon Woods Richardson, the former Blue Jays prospect who was acquired from the Twins Wednesday. While Woods Richardson was a credible back-end starter from 2024-25, he has a 7.74 ERA this season and opposing hitters are batting at least .315 on each of his three most-used pitches.
The Blue Jays may look to nudge Woods Richardson away from his splitter – the worst pitch in MLB this season, according to Baseball Savant’s pitch run values – but it’s possible he’s more than one adjustment away.
Thankfully, Dylan Cease continues pushing closer to the majors with Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber not far behind him. Pitching in a rehab outing at triple-A Thursday, Cease threw 75 pitches while allowing five runs on six hits and striking out six.
Still three games under .500 the Blue Jays are not yet where they need to be, but they return home knowing they responded well to a significant challenge Thursday.