Fastball

Toronto Blue Jays Continue to Underwhelm, Moving Further into Depths of Team History

The Toronto Blue Jays lost to the Washington Nationals on Friday night, 15-8, continuing an underwhelming start to the season. In terms of run differential, this is among the worst starts to a season in Jays history.

Brady Farkas

May 3, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Tim Mayza (58)
May 3, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Tim Mayza (58) / Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
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The Toronto Blue Jays lost to the Washington Nationals on Friday night, 9-3.

The loss drops the Jays to 15-18 on the season and continues a very underwhelming start across the board.

In terms of run differential, this is one of the worst starts in team history, according to StatsCentre:

Worst team run differential through the first 33 games of a season in #BlueJays franchise history (1977-present):
-70 in 1979
-57 in 2002
-46 in 2013
-37 in 2024 (Falling to 15-18 via a 9-3 loss to the Nationals earlier on tonight)
-37 in 1986
-35 in 1978
-33 in 1981
-33 in 1998

The Blue Jays have been to the playoffs in each of the last two years, so the thought of regressing is certainly not palatable to the organization or its fans. Furthermore, the Blue jays have invested a lot in this roster, signing George Springer, Chris Bassitt, Kevin Gausman and Yusei Kikuchi in the last few years, so to be in this spot is very disappointing.

Furthermore, life is about to get very complicated for Toronto as Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will both be free agents after the 2025 season. They may have to move on from one or both of them, so this window the Jays have may be closing quickly.

The Blue Jays will take on the Nationals again on Saturday afternoon with first pitch coming at 4:05 p.m. ET. Gausman (1-3, 4.50 ERA gets the ball for the Jays while Jake Irvin (2-2, 4.28 ERA) pitches for the Nats.

Washington is 16-16.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.