Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays sit 1.5 games out despite five injured starters
kevin gausman is part of a Blue Jays team that reached Tuesday just one and a half games out of a playoff spot even after a quarter-season defined by injuries. Toronto hit the 2026 MLB season’s quarter mark in the middle of Monday’s 8-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre.
Jeff Hoffman said the club had handled the stretch as well as it could with the players available, and the numbers back that up. A baker’s dozen Blue Jays players had spent time on the injured list, including five starting pitchers.
Rogers Centre pressure
Toronto’s latest checkpoint came in the middle of the fifth inning on Monday, when the Blue Jays were still finishing the first quarter of their season in a game they lost 8-5. By Tuesday, they were still within 1.5 games of a playoff spot.
That position is unusual for a team that has been missing so many regulars at once. George Springer missed three weeks and has been playing on a broken toe, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. remained part of a lineup that had to keep moving without several of its usual pieces.
Blue Jays injury load
Addison Barger was on the injured list for the second time and had already missed five weeks. Alejandro Kirk broke his left thumb on April 3 and had not played since, and Nathan Lukes was on an 11-for-21 heater when he pulled his hamstring in late April.
The pitching side was hit just as hard. Cody Ponce suffered a season-ending knee sprain after making it into the third inning of his first start on March 30, while Shane Bieber and José Berríos had yet to throw their first pitch of the season.
Springer backs the start
Springer said before Tuesday’s game, “I agree with (Hoffman),” after the reliever praised the group’s effort. He added, “Obviously it’s not the start that we would want, but we were in a very similar position last year. So if that doesn’t show us that we can get to where we want to get to and do what we want to do, then I don’t know what does.”
Toronto did not get back to the.500 mark for good until May 29 last season, and this year’s quarter-mark position gives the club a familiar test early. The Blue Jays have already absorbed five injured starting pitchers and still entered Tuesday within striking distance of the postseason picture.
