Toronto Blue Jays’ $33 million closer simply couldn’t keep the Houston Astros off the board when his team was on the verge of another comeback in Wednesday’s game. After a wild tenth-inning 4-3 walk-off win in the series opener, the Jays fell 3-2 in the second game. Largely because of Jeff Hoffman’s collapse. Yet after the painful loss, manager John Schneider defended him, saying, “I still trust him. He’s been throwing the ball really well and had one bad pitch tonight.”

One bad pitch? “One bad pitch can be pretty worrying if this happens in October, in a big postseason series.” MLB.com’s Blue Jays reporter Keegan Matheson pointed out. “The jays have seen this happen 15 times already this season. 15 home runs allowed by Jeff Hoffman,” he stressed. Apparently, across 62 1/3 innings this season, Hoffman has given up 15 home runs.

Entering the ninth inning, Hoffman hoped to shut down the Astros’ hitters and hand the Blue Jays a shot at winning in the bottom half. Or at least push the game into extra innings. However, Astros catcher Yainer Diaz connected on a 94.7 mph fastball and sent it 385 feet over the left-center wall.

The Blue Jays batters couldn’t score in the bottom of the inning and lost the game. Matheson’s major concern with Hoffman was that his struggles could derail the Blue Jays’ playoff run. For the same, he pointed out the Blue Jays’ rescue—their biggest bat, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

“Eventually Vladdy needs to take one swing, hit one home run and win one baseball game. It’s a very simple thing. George Springer had a couple of opportunities and he’s had a great year and so has Vladdy. You need them in these big moments down the stretch. Especially in October when the best closers in baseball and the best setup man in baseball are going to be out there every single inning. The best starting pitchers too, all the time. You need your stars to be stars,” he said. For the Blue Jays, Vladdy was exactly the savior they needed on Tuesday night. In their 4-3 walkoff win, during the top of the 10th inning, with a ghost runner on second, Victor Caratini chopped a grounder to first base.

Guerrero could have taken the routine out. However, he instead charged, pivoted, and threw across his body to third, cutting down Jose Altuve and killing the Astros’ best scoring chance. Guerrero and Co. are required to step up at all times; it’s even more important now with one of their key players injured.

Blue Jays dealing with injury crisis with their crucial piece

The Toronto Blue Jays are fighting hard to secure their first American League East title in ten years. The club has pulled off 43 comeback wins this season. For the same reason, they have been tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the most across the league. Even while giving up the first run, they still somehow manage to win nearly half the time. In total, they’ve won 13 games after being behind in the sixth inning.

Plus, 10 more after trailing in the seventh, and four more after still being down in the eighth. Speaking of extra innings games, they’re 9-4. Right before their Wednesday game, they received worrisome news about their star shortstop, Bo Bichette. Apparently, he had been put on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left knee.

Bo Bichette already had a tough 2024 season. He bounced back in 2025, and now his recent form is simply outstanding. During the last month, across 23 games, he had hit .386 with an on-base percentage of .455 and a slugging percentage of .557.

Bichette had stacked up nearly three times as many hits as strikeouts. He had been even hotter at the plate last week. Now, losing him for the next couple of weeks would be a massive blow for the Blue Jays. In his absence, Vladdy and George Springer need to step up.

After all, Springer has been just as good as Vladdy and Bichette. In the same span of Bichette’s dominance, Springer held the slash line of .337/.433/.735 with 10 home runs and 16 RBI across the last 21 games played. Until Bichette gets back, both Vladdy and Springer will be expected to carry the roster.