Boo birds let Blue Jays and Vlad Guerrero Jr. have it after gruesome blowout loss to Royals

Face of franchise was 0-for-3 with a walk but gloomily watched last two innings in the dugout

Published Aug 27, 2026  •  Last updated 4 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Blue Jays starter Spencer Arrighetti pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. Photo by Vaughn Ridley /Getty Images

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And now, Blue Jays manager John Schneider acknowledged on Thursday, the truth about Vlad Guerrero Jr. can be told.

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That brave public face that the beleaguered Blue Jays all star has been trying to keep? It’s not exactly as it might seem, according to the skipper.

The struggles of the team in particular and Guerrero specifically reached its most unsightly point of the season on Thursday night as the Jays were slaughtered 13-2 by the Kansas City Royals and another Rogers Centre sellout crowd let them know how they felt about the indignity.

After his third out of the game, a ground out to second in the seventh inning, Guerrero was lustily booed by the home crowd, derided like never before here.

“You understand it,” Schneider said of the boos that accompanied his team’s second consecutive series loss. “The fans are coming out every single night, which we appreciate.

When you’re getting your ass kicked pretty good, they’re allowed to have their opinion.

“But we love their support every night.”

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The deeper Guerrero slides into the rut of frustration, the more difficult it is to envision this team finishing off its unlikely bid to slide into the playoffs via the back door.

Though far from alone in bringing little offence, it’s difficult to stray too far away from Guerrero’s struggles as the flashpoint.

He remained homer-less in Toronto this season — surprise, surprise — only reaching base once on Thursday, that via a walk.

Those struggles are wearing on Guerrero, as his manager acknowledged prior to the latest debacle, a defeat that saw the Jays slide 3.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the pursuit of the final AL wildcard spot.

“He’s been way more honest with me and the guys than probably he leads on to the media,” Schneider said. “But yeah, he’s frustrated for sure.”

After the latest loss, he isn’t alone.

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Fans turn ugly

The last thing that can be questioned about the Jays this season is the support of the fan base, many lured in by the magic of last year.

Another sellout crowd in a season full of them filled the place again looking for much more. And this time they’d seen enough.

The fans alternated between booing the team and Guerrero, the harshest they’ve been on the face of the franchise in his time year. While that reaction will be tough to stomach, it is a fan base with huge expectations from a team that has come nowhere near meeting them.

An unsightly six-run sixth-inning for the Royals had the Blue Jays faithful upset, as the loudest boos of the reason rained down.

They had more for Guerrero in each of his final two at-bats, as well. Both were meek ground outs and both resulted in what was likely the loudest displeasure the fan base has shown for the face of the franchise in his career.

“It’s been a weird year for Vlad,” Schneider said after the game. “And I feel for him. Everyone feels for him. He’s competing. He’s working.  He’s doing everything he can to try to be the player that he is.”

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In that blowout inning, seven consecutive Royals reached base and Schneider fumed in the dugout. The post-season pursuit didn’t slip away in this one, but it sure felt like it.

Guerrero, meanwhile, was 0-for-3 with a walk but gloomily watched the last two innings in the dugout as, with the game out of reach, he was replaced at first by Brandon Valenzuela.

How frustrated is Guerrero becoming?

Beyond the attempts at unlocking a technical key, Schneider is imploring Guerrero not to bury the frustrations inside.

“Telling him it’s OK to (say) ‘I am (bleeping) grinding.’ I think the more you can lean into that and talk to me or to your teammates — they’re all pulling for you and respect you — the more you can do the better.”

That’s not always been the way with Guerrero, who for the most part keeps his public comments benign with a lean towards the positive.

“Vlad’s good at lying,” Schneider said. “He’s good at saying, ‘No, I’m good.’ And you have to keep asking him to break down that wall a little bit. I think the more you can just be open and honest, it probably makes it a little bit easier to get out of it.

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“We need Vlad to get going. It’s as simple as that.”

It’s been a long, desperate wait and one that doesn’t seem to have an end date.

Anatomy of (another) defeat

The latest Jays loss, which slipped their record to 65-70, was gruesome from the outset.

Spencer Arrighetti, making his first start for the Jays since being acquired at the trade deadline, had a rude welcome to that assignment. The second pitch of the game was belted over the right-field wall by Royals leadoff hitter Carter Jensen, and as absurd as it sounds, the game was as good as over.

If only it ended there.

The Jays gave up two more in the second then had the horrid sixth as the punctuation on a night to forget.

The Jays briefly came to life in the bottom half of the sixth, thanks to a two-run homer from George Springer, but the interlude was brief.

With the white flag fully raised, outfielder Myles Straw pitched the ninth, getting the first two outs before allowing a two-run homer to Jac Caglianone.

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