Dodgers-blue Jays Game: Blue Jays hit by injuries as skid deepens
The dodgers-blue jays game delivered another hard night for Toronto on Monday at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays absorbed a 14-2 loss and another blow to an already thinning roster. Manager John Schneider said catcher Alejandro Kirk will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair a broken left thumb after being hit by a foul tip Friday in Chicago. The loss came with Max Scherzer leaving after two innings because of forearm tendinitis, adding to the strain on a club already dealing with a growing list of absences.
Injuries keep stacking up for Toronto
The dodgers-blue jays game arrived with Toronto already short on bodies, and the situation only got worse as the night unfolded. Kirk was placed on the injured list Saturday, and Schneider said his return timeline remains unclear, though the recovery could run from three to six weeks. The Blue Jays will turn to Tyler Heineman and rookie Brandon Valenzuela behind the plate in the meantime.
Schneider also said right-handed pitcher Cody Ponce has an appointment with a doctor in Los Angeles on Tuesday after suffering a sprained anterior cruciate ligament in his first start on March 30 while chasing a ground ball. Outfielder Addison Barger, who hurt both ankles while running out an infield grounder in Chicago on Sunday, was still being evaluated on Monday, with the club not ruling out an injured-list move. Trey Yesavage is continuing rehab work in Florida and is set to make a start in the Single-A Florida State League on Thursday.
As of Monday, Toronto had a half-dozen major league pitchers out injured, along with one catcher and one outfielder, making the dodgers-blue jays game less a measuring stick and more a test of survival.
What the dugout and clubhouse said
“We’ll have a better idea how much time he will miss after the surgery, ” Schneider said of Kirk. “Around the league he is an underrated player. His superpower is just how steady he is. ”
On the broader strain, Schneider added: “It is crazy over the course of the season how your depth gets challenged. Here and now it looks a little depressing but there is still a lot of baseball ahead. ”
George Springer said before the game that over a 162-game season, “you’re never going to have everything go right, ” and that the team has to absorb the “ebbs and flows” without trying to do too much. After the loss, Schneider said the mix of bad offense, bad defense and bad pitching can happen over the course of a year, but the timing has made the stretch feel especially harsh.
Offense must carry the load
Buster Olney said the Blue Jays’ bats have to lead them out of the current skid, especially because the pitching staff is being hit so hard by injuries. He said the club does not have much margin for error right now, and that the matchup with Los Angeles comes at a difficult moment for a team trying to steady itself.
The dodgers-blue jays game also underscored how quickly the tone can change in a season that is still in its early stages. Toronto’s record dropped to 4-6, and the club has now lost five straight.
What comes next
The challenge does not ease up soon. Toronto faces Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Tuesday and Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday, two more difficult assignments in a stretch that has already exposed the Blue Jays’ depth problems. For now, the focus stays on damage control, recovery and seeing whether the dodgers-blue jays game becomes the low point that pushes the club toward a response.
