Toronto Blue Jays drop series to Houston Astros after late-game errors

By Liam Tremblay — 25 June 2026 — 4 min read

Late-Game Misfortune Costs Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays experienced a challenging series against the Houston Astros, with two close games slipping away in the late innings. On Wednesday, a critical pickoff attempt by Jeff Hoffman in the eighth inning went awry, allowing Joey Loperfido to score. The ball skidded into foul territory along the left-field line at Rogers Centre after Hoffman’s throw to third baseman Kazuma Okamoto was off target, contributing to a 3-1 loss for the Blue Jays.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider attributed the play to miscommunication, noting that Okamoto expected the throw from catcher Alejandro Kirk, while Hoffman anticipated Okamoto to cover the base. This incident marked the second consecutive day the Blue Jays lost a close game late, bringing their season record to 39-41.

Schneider expressed frustration, stating, “It’s frustrating when you feel like you leave a couple wins on the table against an American League team. That’s baseball sometimes, but there’s definitely some areas where you can get a little bit tighter.”

Offensive Struggles and Pitching Challenges

Despite the late-game errors, the Blue Jays’ offence also struggled to generate runs. On Wednesday, they managed only one run on four hits against Astros starter Mike Burrows and the Houston bullpen. This was particularly notable given that Burrows entered the game with a 5.79 ERA, the highest among qualified big-league starters. The lone run came from a Nathan Lukes solo home run in the first inning.

Key hitters like George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had hitless nights. A chance to tie the game late was thwarted when Luis Urias was doubled off second base on a Springer fly ball, ending the threat. Schneider commented on the team’s offensive output, saying, “You’d like to do more against any starter, really. We made a lot of contact, but not a whole lot of quality contact. So, you know, you give credit there, but I think you got to kind of grind a little bit more in those middle innings.”

Starting pitcher Trey Yesavage, making his first career start against the Astros, completed 5.2 innings, allowing one run. However, command issues, which have been a recurring theme for Yesavage this season, resurfaced. Despite Houston only managing two hits against him, Yesavage issued five walks, forcing him to navigate through trouble in most innings. He threw a career-high 105 pitches before being relieved by Tommy Nance in the sixth inning.

Yesavage acknowledged the walks, stating, “It was all right. Just a lot of two-out out walks, which kind of killed me, but it was all right.” This marked the third time in his last five starts that Yesavage walked five or more batters, a trend the Blue Jays aim to address as it leads to elevated pitch counts and prevents him from pitching deeper into games. Schneider noted, “Just elevated pitch count. He made big pitches when he had to, but I thought his stuff was good … love the fact that he went out in the sixth, and gave us some extra outs, but I think the walks are always going to get you.”

Previous Game’s Outcome and Upcoming Series

The series began on Tuesday with another close contest that saw the Astros emerge victorious with a 9-7 win in 11 innings. In that game, Joey Loperfido hit a tiebreaking home run off former Toronto teammate Braydon Fisher in the 11th inning. The Blue Jays had intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez before Loperfido’s home run. Earlier in the game, Yainer Diaz, Cam Smith, and Taylor Trammell hit consecutive home runs for Houston in the fourth inning off Toronto starter Shane Bieber, who was making his first start of the season after being activated off the injured list due to elbow inflammation.

Bieber allowed four runs and nine hits, including three home runs, in 3 2/3 innings. Okamoto contributed offensively with an RBI single in the ninth inning and went 3 for 4 with two walks and three runs batted in during the game. Daulton Varsho and Luis Urias also hit two-run home runs, but the Blue Jays left 13 runners stranded. The Astros tied the game in the ninth against Tyler Rogers after Okamoto’s two-out single had put Toronto up 6-4 in the eighth. Loperfido drove in a run when Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela was called for interference with the bases loaded, followed by a sacrifice fly from Cam Smith. This marked Rogers’ third blown save.

Following the series loss to the Astros, the Blue Jays are set to host the Rangers for a four-game series, continuing their effort to climb above the .500 mark.

Source: sportsnet.ca