Blue Jays homestand goes from bad to embarrassing after sweep by Rangers

Toronto drops sixth game in a row as Texas secures 3-2 victory by scoring on wild pitch in ninth inning

Published Jun 28, 2026  •  4 minute read

Ernie Clement of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts after misplaying a ball in the seventh inning of an MLB game against the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre on Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Toronto. Photo by Cole Burston /Getty Images

The misery continues for the Blue Jays as their losing ways showed no signs of changing anytime soon.

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If misery does indeed love company, then the Jays have their ideal partner in the New York Mets, who will be town for a three-game series beginning Monday night.

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Even if the Jays happen to sweep the equally lowly Mets, their 10-game homestand will amount to a losing stretch, a period that has seen Toronto drop games by every conceivable way.

Sunday was no exception as the Texas Rangers scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the ninth inning of a 3-2 victory to complete its four-game sweep of a Blue Jays team that has now lost six in a row to drop six games below .500 at 39-45.

Not good, but nothing good happens to a ball club when its pitching, offence and defence are not aligned.

Yielding a winning run on a wild pitch that allowed a runner at second base to cross home plate kind of summed up this period of abject failure. Louis Varland was on the mound when the odd sequence unfolded, which began when Varland gave up a two-out double.

In all four games, the Jays offence was anemic, making it interesting with some late-game hitting. Sunday was no exception, but the result was the same as the Jays tied a season high for consecutive setbacks.

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The Jays will turn their attention to the Mets in a series that will be remembered for Bo Bichette’s return. When Bichette last played for the Jays, he hit a three-run homer off Shohei Ohtani to give Toronto an early lead in Game 7 of last fall’s World Series.

The following are three takeaways from Sunday, which got off to a predictably bad start knowing the club’s previous three games against Texas each featured Toronto in a deficit, an afternoon when Nathan Lukes’ two-run homer in the eighth inning tied the game.

Shane Bieber of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches in the first inning of their MLB game against the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre on Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Toronto. Photo by Cole Burston /Getty Images

1. The pain with Shane

Roughed up in his season debut against the Houston Astros, Shane Bieber’s second outing looked equally ominous.

One pitch into the game and the Jays were already trailing 1-0 after Bieber gave up his fourth long ball in two starts. In fairness, he settled down and found a rhythm on the mound.

Compared to the recent travails of Toronto’s starters, Bieber’s pitching could be viewed as Cy Young worthy. He struck out the side in the fifth, an inning for the record books as it included Bieber’s 1,000th-career K when he retired Josh Jung for the second out.

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As the baseball came out of play, fans acknowledged the milestone. An appreciative Bieber tipped his cap to the crowd.

In one of Max Scherzer’s few feel-good moments of the season, he recorded his 3,500th career strikeout earlier this month, becoming just the 11th pitcher in MLB history to achieve the feat.

The best of Bieber, at least in two starts, arrived Sunday. He pitched into the sixth inning, which must be considered a very positive step forward.

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2. Off his Rocker

Even the most fervent fan of the Blue Jays would be hard-pressed to come up with anything close to a scouting report on Kumar Rocker, the right-hander who started for the Rangers.

Mind you, the inordinate amount of websites dedicated to the most insignificant minutiae would provide enough of a snapshot for anyone to make an opinion.

For those fortunate enough to be in attendance, they got a first-hand look at Rocker, a relative no-name in MLB circles. He’s got stuff and after he yielded back-to-back hits to begin his outing, Rocker didn’t surrender his next hit until there were two outs in the fourth inning.

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Bieber is by far the more accomplished and polished pitcher, who nonetheless was making only his second start of the season. Still, Rocker went pitch for pitch with the former Cy Young Award winner.

One particular at-bat against Vladimir Guerrero Jr. spoke to Rocker’s stuff and Guerrero’s ongoing issues. The end result was a bad chase by Guerrero on a pitch that was well down and outside for a swinging third strike.

In his first at-bat, Guerrero didn’t waste any time in making solid contact on a pitch, the first he saw by the way, that carried to the warning track in right field.

Ezequiel Duran and Jake Burger of the Texas Rangers celebrate at the end of their MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Toronto. Photo by Cole Burston /Getty Images

3. Thirst for first

Somehow, some way, the Jays need to get out of this rut where an opponent jumps on them right from the start.

In the six games before Sunday, the Jays gave up a run in the top of the first. The streak increased to an ugly seven when Joc Pederson went deep on the game’s first pitch.

The Rangers have feasted on Toronto pitching this series and were poised to deliver an early knockout blow.

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Texas had no issue in recording hard-hit balls off Bieber. Throw in two walks issued by the right-hander and the Rangers had the bases loaded with one out, well positioned to add to their total.

With his pitch count showing no signs of abating, Bieber made enough quality pitches to escape the first inning by allowing the lone run.

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Up next

The Jays’ season-long 10-game homestand wraps up with a three-game set against the New York Mets; Monday’s scheduled starter for the Jays will be RHP Trey Yesavage, who has yet to regain his form from last season; keep in mind Monday’s scheduled start marks only his 15th in the regular season; the Mets will counter with LHP Sean Manaea before New York throws two righties at the Jays in Nolan McLean and Freddy Peralta Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

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