Blue Jays lose their offence in series finale flop against the Red Sox

Max Scherzer reached another landmark on Thursday but it was not enough to help the Blue Jays complete a four-game sweep over the Boston Red Sox.

After taking the first three contests between them, Toronto fell 7-0. But it wasn’t the 42-year-old’s fault. He gave up just one run on three hits in five innings and surpassed 3,000 innings in his 19-year career.

“It is a really cool milestone to reach,” Scherzer said outside the club’s dressing room. “It really stinks to come in a loss. It’s hard to celebrate when you lose. I go out to compete to win.”

There are 138 other pitchers in the 3,000 innings club, but only Justin Verlander and him are still active. In his previous start, Scherzer passed Walter Johnson and moved into 10th place on the all-time strikeout list with 3,516. He added four more to that total against the Red Sox.

“When you look back to where he has gotten to, you appreciate what he does,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “It’s cool to be a part of that stuff.”

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Scherzer reached 3,000 innings when he induced Masataka Yoshida to pop out to end the first. The 43,000-plus fans on hand at Rogers Centre cheered the achievement.

To put this into perspective, Boston’s starting pitcher, Payton Tolle, was five years old when Scherzer reached the major leagues. Tolle (8-6) was spectacular on this day, allowing just two hits in eight innings. He finished his outing by retiring the last 17 guys he faced.

“He was in and around the strike zone and we were making quick outs,” Schneider said of the opposing starter. “We didn’t have a whole lot of quality contact. You have to give Tolle credit. It’s frustrating but you are going to run into good pitching.”

The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first on a double by Willson Contreras. The score stayed that way until the eighth, when Chase Lee gave up four runs on four hits, including a 388-foot grand slam to left field by Caleb Durbin.

The blast came immediately after Schneider had Lee walk the preceding hitter to load the bases with one out.

“I was trying to keep a ground ball there and keep the game [at 1-0],” Schneider said. “I hate when a decision backfires.”

Lazardo Estrada entered in the ninth and gave up the last two runs on one hit. He walked two batters, plunked another and threw a wild pitch.

The victory ended a six-game losing streak for the Red Sox, who are third in the American League East behind Tampa Bay and New York. Toronto is 59-64 and at game’s end was two in arrears in the race for the AL wild-card.

The only time the Blue Jays posed even a mild threat was in the bottom of the first when they had two runners on base with two out. The team’s only hits were singles by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Nathan Lukes.

The Yankees now pay a visit to Toronto for three games beginning on Friday. Next week the Blue Jays, who are in the midst of 13 games in a row against division opponents, travel to Tampa Bay and the Bronx.

Entering Sunday they had won 11 of their last 16 contests to creep into the periphery of the playoff picture.

“We are in it,” Scherzer said. “It is fun to be in a place where every start matters.”

Scherzer has had a tough season. He’s been on the injured list for 78 games due to back spasms and tendinitis in his right (pitching) forearm. The start on Thursday was only his 11th of the 2026 campaign. He has been solid in his last three appearances, however.

“At the beginning of the year I was battling a lot of things and I wasn’t right,” he said. “I’m still building up my strength. This was a test. I want to be strong in this race. Unfortunately we haven’t been as good as we want to be.

“Our job is to win, no matter what the standings say. That doesn’t change our attitude. I’m not going to relent on that.”