The look on Trey Yesavage's face and the harsh reaction directed to left field said everything that the official scoreboard did not on Monday night. The Blue Jays rookie was in his typical stellar form before another Rogers Centre sellout crowd of 41,137, holding the Miami Marlins to just two runs through 5 2/3 innings. He could have and should have cruised from there.
Instead, some spectacular defensive blundering from wayward left-fielder Yohendrick Pinango conspired against Yesavage and the Jays in what quickly turned into one of the most frustrating losses of the season. The lopsided 8-2 final would not have been anywhere near that grim were it not for Pinango's tentative attempts, much to the frustration of the Jays' 2024 first-round pick, who bore the brunt of it.
A Sixth Inning Disaster
What should have been a relatively easy end to the sixth inning, while keeping plenty in the tank for the young starter, turned into disaster for him and ultimately the Jays. Pinango, whose defensive play is kindly a work in progress, hesitated in his charge for a blooping ball off the bat of the Marlins' Kyle Stowers while eyeing shortstop Andres Gimenez. A poor break for the ball and broken communication led to the ball bouncing off the left leg of Pinango, allowing Canadian Liam Hicks to score the Marlins' third run of the game. It was an inexcusable play that had to be made, reflective of some of the sloppiness that has found its way into the Jays' game too often in 2026.
Worse for Yesavage, who let his frustrations be known both after the play and as he stomped into the dugout later, it extended a Marlins inning that resulted in three runs. Sure enough, Javier Sanoja belted another shot Pinango's way two batters later. Though a much more difficult out to make, the bad night continued as Pinango misjudged the trajectory of that shot, and two more runs scored. Neither play was scored an error, and suddenly an inning that should have ended with two earned runs on Yesavage's tab had bloated to five. No wonder he was not amused.
What Yesavage Has Meant to the Jays
After entering the night with a skimpy 1.07 ERA through his first five starts, Yesavage's ERA more than doubled to 2.25 through minimal fault of his own. His form through six starts has been stellar, building as he goes. The 6 2/3 innings he went on Monday (that should have been longer) was the deepest regular season start of his career, as was his 98 pitches. Given the injury woes to the rotation (with Dylan Cease the latest to join the injured list prior to Monday's game), the Jays are going to need every bit of his ability.
"Trey's pretty savvy for a young guy and understood the natural buildup of the season," manager John Schneider said. "Going back to last year, he's been impressive in terms of handling everything that we've thrown at him and understanding what we want from him and how to do it properly." In particular, the Jays have liked the resilience Yesavage has shown, a maturity that belies his youth. "It's his first full year in the big leagues, so the routine part of it, the adjustment part of it and seeing what pitch is working every outing is part of it," Schneider said. "He's been really damn good."
Welcome Return from Nathan Lukes
After spending 28 days on the injured list with a left hamstring strain, outfielder Nathan Lukes was pumped to get back in a big-league batter's box. He belted out singles in each of his first three at-bats, taking advantage of his placement at No. 2 in Schneider's batting order. The third of those came in the fifth inning, the closest the Jays came to a rally by scoring a run. In his fourth plate appearance, Lukes survived a scare as he took a pitch to the helmet from Marlins reliever Andrew Nardi. Lukes shook it off, proceeded to first base, and remained in the game.
Quick Hits
- For the optimists in the crowd, the Jays reached the one-third marker with a 26-28 record a season ago, just one win better than this uneven version of the team.
- Of added note to Pinango's wayward night in the field: It came on the same day that the man who often patrols left, Davis Schneider, was sent down to make room for the addition of Lukes.
- Perhaps lost in the blowout portion of the evening was the big-league debut of reliever Tanner Andrews, who arrived at the dome just prior to game time. After 11 years in the minors, the 30-year-old Andrews was an emergency call-up to temporarily take the roster spot vacated when Cease was transferred to the 15-day IL. Andrews pitched a one-two-three ninth for the Jays and was warmly received by his teammates when he returned to the dugout.
- It was a productive night for the Canadian contingent on the Marlins roster as Burlington native Owen Caissie had a pair of hits and two RBIs while Toronto's Hicks was 1-for-4 and scored a pair of runs.
