Jeff Hoffman takes loss after error on pickoff

The Phillies took a 2-1 lead against Varland in the top of the ninth, but the Jays came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning to win the game and make Varland 3-1 on the season. Jeff Hoffman pitched a scoreless seventh in a tie game tonight, but it probably won’t matter much what Hoffman does unless Varland blows a lead in the near future.

Hoffman came into a 6-1 game with one on and immediately gave up the homer to Alonso, adding one run to both his and Spencer Miles’ ledger. He then struck out Coby Mayo and induced a soft groundout from Leody Taveras. The home run ball, a far bigger issue last season, was the fourth allowed by Hoffman in 27 1/3 innings this year. It’s the absurd .492 BABIP that has caused most of Hoffman’s problems this season. He probably won’t be receiving any save chances in the short term after giving up five runs in the ninth the Orioles last Saturday.

Louis Varland had shut down the heart of the Orioles lineup in the eighth inning before Hoffman took the mound with a four-run lead in the ninth. It didn’t go well. Hoffman struck out the first batter, then allowed the next six batters to reach, bringing three runs in and loading the bases. Connor Seabold took over and walked in a run before Pete Alonso walked it off with a base hit. Hoffman had been pitching better of late, making six straight scoreless appearances. Though Saturday’s implosion certainly won’t help his cause in retaking the closer role. Varland remains the reliever to roster in Toronto.

Hoffman had a three-run cushion, but he didn’t need it in setting down Brandon Lowe, Oneil Cruz and Endy Rodríguez. Hoffman was the easy choice to close today after Louis Varland had a two-inning save Friday. Varland should be back on the role on Sunday if the Jays have a chance to extend their streak to five straight days with a save.

With Louis Varland unavailable after pitching in the previous two games, Hoffman slid back into the ninth inning role and performed flawlessly. He got Cody Bellinger on a line drive to first base and then punched out Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Paul Goldschmidt in succession to end it. It’s going to take an injury or a series of implosions from Varland for Hoffman to reclaim his closer’s gig, but it was nice to see him have success in the role once again on Thursday.

While it wasn’t a save opportunity – the Blue Jays were up by four runs – we got another data point proving that Varland is the closer in Toronto. Former closer Jeff Hoffman came into this game in the seventh innings and allowed a run while Varland trotted out for the ninth and pitched another scoreless frame. He is undoubtedly the best option for saves in this bullpen.

Hoffman has pitched two hitless innings since losing his closer’s role last week, and he was particularly sharp in the 10-pitch outing tonight. He’s now struck out 27 of the 64 hitters he’s faced this year. That 42.2 percent K rate that would obliterate his previous high of 33.6 percent.

Varland got the nod in the ninth inning to close out the game against the Guardians with a three-run lead. This one nearly got away from him. He recorded one quick out, then gave up a run on three straight hits before striking out the final two batters to preserve the win with his second save. The 28-year-old right-hander had not given up a run going into the day. He figures to remain in the saves mix in part of a committee until Jeff Hoffman gets right and is ready to resume ninth-inning duties.

Jeff Hoffman will attempt to iron out his issues in lower-leverage appearances. The Jays won’t say as such, but this probably makes Louis Varland the favorite for saves. Pitching well for the Jays at the moment are Varland (0.00 ERA in 13 innings pitched), Tyler Rogers (0.73 ERA in 12.1 innings pitched) and Braydon Fisher (2.08 ERA in 13 innings pitched) — saves will likely come out of that trio. But Varland is the easy pickup in fantasy leagues where he’s available.

Schneider claimed that he doesn’t want to make a knee-jerk decision, but “we’ll re-evaluate everything, talk with him, see how he’s doing. He’s going through it, obviously, a little bit.” Nothing is certain, but that does sound like a manager who is thinking about giving his closer a break from high-leverage innings while they try to figure out how to help him. “How can we be there to support you? How can we help you get ahead of hitters? Is it mechanical? Is it between the ears a little bit? What’s going on and how can we help?” We still believe the Blue Jays would like to have Hoffman close, so he could easily return to the role if the team figures out what’s going on, but Louis Varland needs to be added in all formats in case the Blue Jays do decide to give Hoffman a break from closing games.