The Toronto Blue Jays opened their September schedule Tuesday night against the Cleveland Guardians and suffered a 6–1 loss at Progressive Field.
Game summary
Toronto struck first in the fifth inning when Kazuma Okamoto eventually scored on a wild pitch after Cleveland catcher Patrick Bailey’s throwing error helped him advance.
Cleveland answered immediately. Bailey hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth, putting the Guardians ahead 2–1. Angel Genao then added a two-run blast in the seventh before Angel Martínez’s two-run homer in the eighth completed Cleveland’s scoring.
Pitching
Gavin Williams was the difference-maker. The Cleveland starter struck out a career-high 13 batters over seven innings, allowing only two hits and one unearned run.
Toronto’s pitching struggled to contain Cleveland after the early lead. The Guardians’ three home runs ultimately put the game out of reach.
Key takeaway
The loss drops Toronto to 68–71, while Cleveland improves to 70–68, giving the Guardians a 2½-game advantage over the Jays in the tight AL wild-card race.
Bottom line: Toronto’s offense was held to just two hits, while Cleveland’s power and Williams’ dominant outing produced a convincing series-opening victory. The Jays now need to respond quickly in the remaining games of this important series.
