Can Yankees arrival in Toronto spark the Blue Jays to finally turn the corner?

It was a year ago during the Canada Day Weekend when Jays pulled off a four-game sweep of Yanks, a franchise-first. A repeat is required.

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Published Jun 11, 2026  •  4 minute read

George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays singles against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium last month. Getty Images

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The Blue Jays have gone 3-3 on their current homestand and sit three games below .500 in the standings, one game back in the AL wild-card race.

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Regardless of how one cares to dissect it using baseball metrics, the 2026 edition is not good and hasn’t been good for any sustained stretch for myriad reasons.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has hit precisely three home runs and none at home, George Springer is a shell of last year’s renaissance version, the starting rotation has been in flux almost from the moment training camp broke, the offence hasn’t been good and the list goes on.

But there are some good signs, too.

Louis Varland’s emergence as a closer has been fun to watch, the development of young guns such as Jesus Sanchez, Brandon Valenzuela and Yohendrick Pinango are encouraging, Ernie Clement’s carry-over from last fall’s run inspiring and Kazuma Okamoto’s power bat has been much-needed in his first season in the big leagues.

There’s Alejandro Kirk’s imminent return, Shane Bieber inching closer to making his season debut and Daulton Varsho moving along well — all positive signs.

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Eventually, some kind of winning roll must be established, some kind of statement made and some level of consistent baseball achieved.

In other works, a spark is required.

The arrival of FIFA’s World Cup has brought an air of excitement the city hasn’t felt in years, the considerable nonsense and nuisances associated with the beautiful game notwithstanding.

Basking in World Cup buzz

For the first time, Canada will play a World Cup game on home soil Friday afternoon.

A few hours later, the Blue Jays will play host to the New York Yankees.

If ever a backdrop existed to kick-start the Jays season, it’s this weekend knowing the Bronx Bombers are in town, a wounded AL East rival because mega-star Aaron Judge is sidelined with a fractured rib.

The teams met in the Big Apple last month that featured a four-game split and New York’s visit to Rogers Centre is its first since last year’s matchup in the ALDS.

The Jays won the East a year ago because they owned the tiebreaker, which it earned thanks to a franchise-first four-game sweep at home over the Yankees.

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That series played out over the Canada Day weekend and would serve as the impetus for what would follow.

History needs to be repeated this weekend as Toronto closes out its nine-game homestand.

If you recall, last year’s visit by the Yankees came to be known as Springer’s coming-out party as a Blue Jay when he went wild at the plate. In one epic game, the veteran hit two homers, including a grand slam, en route to a seven-RBI day.

Some may also remember that the Jays pulled off the four-game sweep minus an injured Bo Bichette.

Reliving magical series

Some may also recall the memorable at-bat produced by Nathan Lukes, who was inserted at leadoff for the first time, as he fouled off nine pitches before driving home the go-ahead run.

It was a magical series that would see the Jays climb to first place in the division for the first time since Sept. 5, 2016.

Looking back can be a fool’s errand, knowing the present is all that matters.

The Jays had Thursday off, one day after dropping a 7-4 decision to the Philadelphia Phillies in the series rubber match when veteran right-hander Max Scherzer became the 11th pitcher in MLB history to record 3,500-career strikeouts when he fanned leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber, Scherzer’s former teammate in Washington.

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Scherzer previously appeared on a big-league mound in April and is scheduled to make his next start at Fenway Park when the Jays are in Boston next week.

“You want to try to see what it looks like when he gets some consistent work,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider told the media following Wednesday’s setback.

“I think he’s earned that. It’s the reason why we signed him back. You don’t want to make any knee-jerk reactions.”

Injured Jays on the mend

The club must react when Kirk returns, which could happen as early as Friday, triggering a roster move. Addison Barger will soon be back as well.

The Jays are fortunate knowing they play in a very weak AL. The mere fact they find themselves the hunt for a wild card speaks to the league’s inferiority.

“Everybody just wants to play better,” Scherzer said following Wednesday’s outing. “I think everybody can look at themselves in the mirror (and try) to do a little bit more.”

Which is more or less where the Jays find themselves.

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Naturally, more is required, whether it’s more hits, runs, better defence and pitching — essentially every aspect of baseball.

How have the Yankees fared without Aaron Judge?

Judge’s production can’t be replaced, but the Yankees have managed without their franchise face.

After the Jays took the final two games of the series in the Bronx, the Yankees dropped a game to Tampa. Since that loss, the Yankees have gone 11-4, despite the ongoing injury absences to DH Giancarlo Stanton (calf strain) and catcher Austin Wells (cervical headaches).

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Former Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole is back following his Tommy John surgery.

Over his first two starts, the righty tossed 12.2 scoreless innings before yielding three homers in a loss.

The Jays won’t face Cole this series as the Yankees line up with Ryan Weathers pitching Friday, Cam Schlittler on Saturday and Will Warren in Sunday’s series finale.

Take note of Friday night’s 7:37 p.m. first pitch, 30 minutes later than the normal start time.

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