Jays welcome offensive outburst as squad hits three homers in 8-1 win over Mariners

TORONTO — The way starter Dylan Cease and relievers Mason Fluharty, Paul Sewald and CJ Van Eyk pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays in their series opener against the Seattle Mariners, there wasn’t much need for an offensive explosion on Friday.

But after the embarrassing 13-2 series-finale loss to the Kansas City Royals on Thursday that sent Toronto off the field with the home fans jeering, manager John Schneider felt the need to address his club’s offensive woes.

So before the 8-1 win against the Mariners, Schneider spoke to his players at Rogers Centre.

“You’ve got 27 games left,” he told his club. “Hopefully more. Let’s just kind of worry about one day at a time and leave it all out there.”

From new leadoff man Brett Bateman to George Springer, the Blue Jays enjoyed a three-homer, 12-hit victory that kept them lurking in the hunt for the American League’s third and final wild-card spot.

The Blue Jays (66-70) find themselves 2 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Guardians (68-67) with a little more than a month remaining in the regular season.

“They all are must-wins at this point,” said Cease (9-5), who struck out eight in his six innings. He allowed only one run on four hits with a walk.

“It’s huge,” Cease said when asked about the run support. “As a pitcher, you have a bigger margin for error.”

Cease was masterful after a one-out homer from Dominic Canzone in the first inning. He was bolstered by the three runs the Blue Jays responded with in the bottom half of the opening inning.

Bateman set the table with a single and stolen base. Later, the Blue Jays flexed their muscle with solo homers from Nathan Lukes and Springer in the fifth and Kazuma Okamoto’s team-leading 27th in the sixth inning.

“Big swings up and down the lineup,” Schneider said. “I thought the bats were really good, and Dylan was good. So just overall a good day.”

It was easy to pick out Springer as offensive hero with his first four-hit outing in 2026. But Schneider lauded the addition of Bateman for his speed, contact and baseball smarts, and Okamoto for finally smacking a sweeper into the seats, a pitch that has given the Japanese rookie fits this season.

“We’re going to go celebrate,” Schneider said. “We’re going to have some whiskey, me and Kaz. The sweeper’s been his enemy, but he got it tonight.”

Springer’s health was an issue earlier in the season with a fractured toe and a troublesome shoulder. But he has appeared to be his athletic self since the All-Star break, and comfortable since being dropped from the leadoff spot to fourth in the batting order.

In 38 games since the break, Springer has batted .317 (40-for-126) with six doubles, a triple, five homers, 22 RBIs, 19 runs scored and 12 walks.

“He can catch a heater with the best of them,” Schneider said. “I think he’s feeling a little bit better physically, and he’s just moving better. He’s pretty athletic in the box right now.

“The double and the home run, and staying inside a sinker up the middle is a really good sign. So he’s in a good groove. Hopefully, we can keep him right there.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2026.

Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press