Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Alex Freeland reacts after hitting a double against the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh inning on Tuesday.Dan Hamilton/Reuters
It was a night of opportunities for the Blue Jays on Tuesday – but all of them were missed. Trailing by two runs in the eighth inning they loaded the bases with none out but still didn’t score.
The 4-1 loss to the Dodgers was their seventh in the last eight games and sixth in a row. The only recent losing streak longer was seven in June of 2024.
Frustration is building for John Schneider. The Toronto manager was ejected in the fifth inning with none out and a runner on first base after ace starting pitcher Kevin Gausman was charged with a balk.
Schneider went nose to nose with home plate umpire Dan Merzel before he got thumbed and was still a bit bummed after the game.
“It definitely was not a balk and I’m not turning back from that,” he said while addressing the media.
The call eventually led to an LA run.
For the most part, the Blue Jays got Yamamotoed again. The Dodgers’ right hander, who secured three of LA’s four wins in the 2025 World Series, was outstanding.
After striking out the side in the first inning, he gave up a double to Jesus Sanchez to start the second but then went on to retire the next dozen hitters.
During that span, the Dodgers put up two runs on a single by Shohei Ohtani and a groundout by Will Smith, which afforded them with enough runs to win on this night. Later they added a run on a single by second baseman Alex Freeland and scored in the ninth on a single by Kyle Tucker.
Gausman set a major league record in his first two outings of the season by striking out 21 batters without a base on balls. He left with one out in the sixth inning and the Blue Jays in arrears 3-0.
He walked Ohtani on four pitches to begin the contest, which extended the Japanese superstar’s on-base streak to 42 games.
He wasn’t quite as sharp this time out but pitched fine overall. Just not as good as Yamamoto.
Gausman is 0-1 now after giving up four runs in 17 1/3 inning with 26 strikeouts and two walks. Yamamoto improved to 2-1.
Toronto cut the lead to 3-1 in the sixth on a double to right field by George Springer, who has struggled mightily through the season’s first 11 games.
The Blue Jays eventually chased Yamamoto in the seventh. Kazuma Okamoto doubled on a sharp line drive to centre and advanced to third on a bunt single by Ernie Clement. After Yamamoto was pulled, lefty reliever Alex Vesia walked pinch-hitter Davis Schneider to load the bases.
At this point Toronto seemed on the verge of a much needed comeback. Instead, Vesia induced Andres Gimenez to fly out to shallow left field, struck out Brandon Valenzuela and retired Springer on a fly ball to right.
Down by three, the Jays threatened again in the ninth but fell short. Edwin Diaz worked out of a jam to pick up his fourth save of 2026.
Toronto had hoped this rematch with the World Series champions would help it get back on track after sweeping the Athletics in the opening series but it has done anything but that. They have now lost three of their first four series.
The final game of this one is Wednesday afternoon when Dylan Cease takes the mound for Toronto and Ohtani gets the nod for Los Angeles.
John Schneider, manager of the Toronto Blue Jays yells at umpire Dan Merzel before getting ejected in the fifth inning on Tuesday.Cole Burston/Getty Images
“The way out of this for us is that someone has to get a big hit,” Schneider said. “It will happen. Runners in scoring position is a weird stat. It ebbs and it flows.”
At this stage, a few things would help.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has one home run – his lone extra-base hit – through 11 games. Springer, Daulton Varsho and Nathan Lukes are off to slow starts.
Despite sweeping the Athletics in three games to open the season they are now 4-7 – and two of those wins over the Athletics were each by one run.
“Baseball happens, whether it is guys getting off to a slow start offensively, defensively or on the mound,” Schneider said. “We are 10 games into the season.
“If we sit here and dwell on it that’s when stuff snowballs. If you get caught up in it you look around and go ‘Wow’. There are going to be games where it doesn’t work out but you have to keep the big picture in mind.”