The Blue Jays four-consecutive series win streak has come to an end. On Wednesday evening, the team played the third of four games against the Kansas City Royals, falling 3-2 to the American League Central team, bringing their record to 13-12. The Royals jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, as Salvador Pérez hit an RBI single to score Bobby Witt Jr. Thankfully, there were two runners left on the bases. Salvy drives in Bobby for an early 1-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/LFpMqvDh89 — Royals Daily (@RoyalsDaily_) April 24, 2024 In the bottom of the second, the Royals expanded th ..read more

Alek Manoah’s last outing was pretty good. The same cannot be said about his outing on Wednesday evening. The 26-year-old made his fourth rehab start of the season and his third for the Buffalo Bisons. He finished with a line of 3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 5 K with two home runs given up. This line is significantly worse than the one he had last Friday, when he finished 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K with a home run given up. Alek Manoah tonight in Triple-A: 3 IP • 6 ER, 7 H, 4 BB, 5 K • 2 HR I liked how he looked last time out, but this is a step back. #BlueJays — Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson ..read more

With a rainout, there were only three affiliate games on tap for the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. One team returned to their winning ways, while the other two affiliates lost their games. As always, let’s start with the upper-minor affiliate, before looking at how the Vancouver Canadians and the Dunedin Blue Jays did. New Hampshire end a five game losing streak After five consecutive losses at the hands of the Portland Sea Dogs, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats ended that streak with a 7-1 win, defeating the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Josh Kasevich hit his first home run of the season, which was ..read more

Hey kid, welcome to the show. Hours after being called up with Kevin Kiermaier landing on the injured list, the Blue Jays’ No. 6 prospect Addison Barger is set to make his big league debut. He will bat eighth in the lineup, as the Jays face Royals pitcher Alec Marsh. Here’s more on Barger from Blue Jays Nation’s Cam Lewis: Selected by the Blue Jays in the sixth round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of high school, Barger has developed into one of Toronto’s top prospects. He was added to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft in 2022 following a season that saw him hit 26 home runs an ..read more

Blake Snell’s tenure as a San Francisco Giant couldn’t be off to a worse start.  After waiting all winter for a lucrative deal that never came, Snell was forced to settle for a two-year, $62-million contract with the Giants signed last month, which includes an opt-out after this season. But following a fast-tracked build-up, he struggled mightily in his first three starts of 2024.  The 31-year-old lefty, last year’s NL Cy Young Award winner, surrendered 15 runs – all earned – on 18 hits and five walks while striking out 12 in 11.2 innings. He lost all three starts and owns an 11.57 E ..read more

While the Toronto Blue Jays’ farm system is considered bottom-third in the sport, there are a handful of talented prospects down in triple-A Buffalo that fans will likely see up with the big-league squad at some point this season. The Bisons entered 2024 with the sixth-best roster in all of the minor leagues per MLB Pipeline, and one key reason responsible for that ranking is the amount of talent that resides within their batting order, specifically in the top half. With names like Spencer Horwitz, Orelvis Martinez and Addison Barger in the mix, it’s easy to become excited while theorizing how ..read more

The Toronto Blue Jays have called up Addison Barger from the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, according to Johnny Giunta of the Gate 14 Podcast. BREAKING NEWS: Addison Barger has been called up to the Toronto Blue Jays per sources. Pls credit when it happens #JohnnySources — Johnny Giunta (@JohnnyGiunta_) April 24, 2024 Kevin Kiermaier was removed from Tuesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals in the sixth inning and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet later reported that he’s dealing with left hip flexor discomfort. With that in mind, it seems likely that Kiermaier is headed to the Injured List an ..read more

The Toronto Blue Jays will continue their four-game series with the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium after letting one slip away Tuesday. Toronto took a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning Tuesday, but a careless fielding error from first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. helped the Royals rally for three runs in the bottom of the fifth that proved to be the difference in the 3-2 Kansas City victory. The teams have split the first two games of the series, and the Royals snapped a three-game slide with Tuesday’s victory. The series finale will be played on Thursday afternoon bef ..read more

Yusei Kikuchi’s three-year, $36 million contract with the Blue Jays ends this year. Would Toronto want to extend the lefty’s contract, and if so, what would an extension look like? Start with the obvious caveat: there are many factors that could affect that decision that are still in play. Kikuchi is currently playing like a Cy Young candidate, with a top-20 2.08 ERA (and a top-12 xERA). If he continues at that level, it will make him more attractive as a free agent – and a more expensive extension candidate. There are also external factors. The Jays have Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios under c ..read more

Once upon a time, the Houston Astros were the formidable team everyone feared. This was the team that won over 100 games in a span of seven seasons starting in 2017 and successfully reached the playoffs all those years. Houston had a strong rotation, bulletproof bullpen, and fearsome lineup that could fire on all cylinders. They had everything every team could possibly covet and even won the World Series in 2022. The Astros empire looked invincible, but things started to crack in 2024.  Even before reaching the halfway point of the 2024 season, the Astros already have starting pitchers Cr ..read more