{"id":668489,"date":"2026-04-07T14:23:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T14:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/668489\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T14:23:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T14:23:12","slug":"toronto-blue-jays-need-bats-to-lead-them-out-of-early-season-skid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/668489\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Blue Jays need bats to lead them out of early-season skid"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Toronto Blue Jays<\/a>\u2019 struggles to begin the season have been well documented and things reached a new low when the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> opened the World Series rematch series with a 14-2 thumping Monday night.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers hit five home runs, had seven different players get two or more hits and outhit the Blue Jays 17 to five in their first meeting since Toronto\u2019s heartbreaking loss in Game 7 last fall. To add insult to injury, the Dodgers finished the night using position player Miguel Rojas<\/a> on the mound \u2013 the very same position player who tied World Series Game 7 in the ninth inning with a solo home run.<\/p>\n

The loss was the Jays\u2019 fifth in a row and dropped their record to 4-6 on the season.<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Buster Olney joined TSN 1050 Toronto\u2019s First Up with Carlo Colaiacovo and Aaron Korolnek<\/a> Tuesday morning and said it\u2019s on the Jays\u2019 bats to lead the team out of its funk, especially considering the injuries to the pitching staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the offence that need to lead them out, to carry them through this part, right? I don\u2019t think that they have necessarily a dynamic lineup [like] the Yankees do where they hit a bunch of home runs and they\u2019re going to have some 15-2 wins. But they obviously, as we saw throughout last year\u2019s postseason, they have what could be a very good lineup,\u201d Olney said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can throw out a bunch of hits. And those guys have to lead right now. There\u2019s no doubt about it because they just don\u2019t have a lot of margin for error with where their pitching is.\u201d<\/p>\n

The starting staff took another hit Monday night when Max Scherzer<\/a> exited after just two innings with what the team later described as forearm tendinitis. Manager John Schneider said he was fairly confident Scherzer would make his next start, but forearm injuries are never an encouraging thing to hear for any pitcher.<\/p>\n

Olney made the point that Scherzer understands his body as well as anyone and has bounced back quickly at times during his career, but age is also a factor.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re 41, you come out because of forearm discomfort. There\u2019s no guarantee that in five days it\u2019s going to be better. You appreciate the fact that he was trying to grind it out last night. He gets good advice from the Jays training staff saying do not hurt yourself. Do not make it worse. I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll get treatment and I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll prepare to make his next start but man, right now it is all hands on deck,\u201d Olney said.<\/p>\n

He also pointed out that the injuries are not coming at an ideal time or against the right opponent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Blue Jays made plans to have depth in their rotation, and it\u2019s just completely eaten away. And so, for now, to be matched up with the Dodgers at a time when, let\u2019s face it, you\u2019re kind of fighting for your season,\u201d Olney said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to happen over the course of the year,\u201d Schneider told reporters Monday night<\/a> regarding the Jays\u2019 losing streak. \u201cBad offence, bad defence, bad pitching, giving up homers, it\u2019s going to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just seems like right now the baseball world is trying to throw it all at us at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t get any easier for the Jays the next two nights. Taking the hill Tuesday is Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a>, who played a huge part in all three of L.A.\u2019s wins in Toronto during the World Series, highlighted by a complete game in Game 2 and closing out Game 7 in extras. Shohei Ohtani<\/a>, who currently holds the longest active scoreless inning streak among starting pitchers at 22.2 stretching back to last season, goes Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo face the Dodgers in this moment? Not ideal to have [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto tonight, Shohei Ohtani<\/a> tomorrow. At the same time, you\u2019re scrambling to get Patrick Corbin<\/a> and Trey Yesavage<\/a> ready to rejoin the rotation because reinforcements are needed so badly,\u201d Olney said.<\/p>\n

Starters Yesavage, Cody Ponce, Shane Bieber<\/a> and Jose Berrios<\/a> are on the injured list while Eric Lauer<\/a> left his outing on Sunday after just two innings due to an illness floating around the team\u2019s clubhouse.<\/p>\n

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