Third-inning miscues cost Blue Jays in loss to Reds

At 78-83, the best the Blue Jays can hope for is a tie for last place in the AL East with Baltimore.

Published Sep 26, 2026  •  Last updated 26 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Brett Bateman of the Toronto Blue Jays falls after catching a ball against the Cincinnati Reds during the seventh inning in their MLB game at Rogers Centre on Sept. 26, 2026 in Toronto. Photo by Mark Blinch /Getty Images

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Well, let’s just say it’s a good thing the Blue Jays weren’t playing for anything tangible in the standings.

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One could look back this season at any number of ugly innings in the field to illustrate the Jays’ defensive shortcomings this disastrous season. And the third inning of their penultimate game of the season on Saturday at the Rogers Centre would certainly qualify.

Toggling between both physical and mental gaffes, the Jays committed two errors in a 5-1 loss to the visiting Cincinnati Reds.

Their 2026 season — unwatchable for large portions and drawing some excitement only for a few weeks late in the schedule when a wild-card berth somehow remained possible — ends on Sunday against the Reds.

At 78-83, the best they can hope for is a tie for last place in the AL East with the Baltimore Orioles.

It showed on Saturday, as the Blue Jays, who ranked near the bottom of the heap defensively, showed why.

The third inning began with the Reds up 1-0 following two mostly solid innings from returning starter Trey Yesavage.

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Miles Spencer issued a leadoff walk to Matt McLain, then appeared to react slowly when Carlos Jorge laid a sacrifice bunt down the first base line.

By the time Spencer got to it, all he could do was make a desperate flip of the ball to first baseman Sean Keys, who could only watch it sail over his head.

With runners on first and second, the Jays might have escaped that. But second baseman Ernie Clement snagged a line drive from Elly De La Cruz and, with his choice of two Reds runners to double off, chose the wrong one.

McLain had fallen trying to scramble back to second base, but Clement instead threw to first. Problem was, Keys was not on the bag.

Both runners were safe, then added to the Jays problems with a double steal of second and third.

Sal Stewart then obliged the Jays with a ground ball to Andres Gimenez, but the veteran Gold Glove shortstop booted it, making it 2-0, and Eugenio Suarez followed with a double into the left-field corner to plate Jorge.

Fast forward to the fifth inning and the Jays still down by three.

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After newly called-up reliever John Klein got the first two outs, JJ Bleday walked and Tyler Stephenson reached on a fielding error by Keys.

Hector Rodriguez sent a high fly ball to deep left field. Josh Smith, who is a better infielder than he is an outfielder, kept backing up as he followed the ball, losing the warning track and crashing back-first into the wall.

Rodriguez wound up on third with a two-RBI triple.

The Jays scored their only run on a Gimenez groundout in the seventh and managed just five hits on the day.

Interestingly, the Jays’ best two players on the day were acquired just before the August 3 trade deadline.

Klein, a right-hander making just his fourth appearance in the majors, turned in four shutout relief innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five. It was the longest outing of his major-league career.

He was one of three pieces acquired from the Twins for one-time closer Jeff Hoffman.

Meanwhile, centre fielder and leadoff man Brett Bateman continued to strengthen his case for 2027, going 2-for-3 with a walk (raising his batting average to .325 and his on-base percentage to .400) and making a crashing catch into the outfield wall.

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