Toronto

Blue Jays

Varsho opened the scoring in the fourth inning of this one, smacking a 1-1 fastball from Bailey Ober for a 397-foot (107.4 mph EV) solo shot. That would wind up being the extent of the Jays’ scoring. Varsho finished the night 1-for-4 with a strikeout and is now hitting .235/.312/.408 with four homers and eight RBI on the season.

Gausman struck out two batters on the evening while issuing a pair of free passes. After cruising through three scoreless frames to start the game, the right-hander served up a two-run blast to Ryan Jeffers in the fourth inning. He then allowed another pair in the sixth inning including a solo shot by Byron Buxton. The 35-year-old hurler got just seven swings and misses on 94 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 26 percent. Now 2-2 on the season, he’ll carry a 3.10 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and a 40/8 K/BB ratio (40 2/3 innings) into Tuesday’s matchup against the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Barger has been out since April 6 with a left ankle sprain. The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon believes Barger could return to the Jays at some point in the next week. The 26-year-old was off to a slow start before getting hurt, but could carve in to Jesús Sánchez’s playing time against right-handers when he returns.

The Jays only outhit the Red Sox 10-9, but they bunched theirs together, going 4-for-4 with RISP. Boston was 1-for-8 in those situations. Guerrero tops the majors with a .358 average, though Ildemaro Vargas is at .370 and is about to qualify for the list. He’s hit just two homers, but those should start to come. He has 12 barrels, putting him slightly ahead of his career rate in that category.

Lauer was supposed to lose his rotation spot to Trey Yesavage this week, but Max Scherzer’s IL stint gained him a reprieve, and he was successful while going through Boston’s lineup twice today, even though he allowed nine hard-hit balls and struck out just one in the process. Of course, he didn’t qualify for the win, even though he left with a 5-1 lead. That went to Brandon Fisher in relief. Unless the Jays decide to activate José Berríos, Lauer will likely start again next week against the Rays.

Clement had 12 homers in 2024 and nine last season, but it took him 30 games to get one this year. Of course, that’s not an issue while he’s batting .301. The homer, though, turned out to be his lone hit in the series against Boston, as he finished 1-for-11 with two walks. He was working on a 10-game hitting streak going into the series.

Valenzuela had been 5-for-34 with a 14/1 K/BB as a part-time replacement for Alejandro Kirk before his little breakout today. Although both catchers are switch-hitters, it seems like the Jays prefer Tyler Heineman against lefties, leaving Valenzuela starting about half of the time against righties for now.

The Blue Jays needed a spot on the roster for George Springer (toe) to come off the injured list, so Eloy Jiménez was let go. The 29-year-old had gone 9-for-31 in his 12 games with the Blue Jays, but all nine of those hits were singles, so he wasn’t packing much of a punch. He’ll likely clear waivers and can return on a minor league deal.

Springer is not in the starting lineup on Wednesday, but he is available off the bench. He should move back into the starting lineup soon, which will shift Lenyn Sosa back to the bench and also mean less playing time for Yohendrick Pinango, who is starting at designated hitter and batting sixth on Wednesday.

Making his season debut after missing time with a shoulder impingement, Yesavage allowed all four hits before Mason Fluharty, Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland combined to retire 11 of the 12 batters they faced. Yesavage struck out three and walked none while focusing mostly on his fastball and splitter. He used his slider just six times tonight. Last year, he threw that pitch 29 percent of the time. Tonight, it was eight percent. He ended up with just five whiffs, but he also allowed only three hard-hit balls. It’s just one start, of course, but it suggests that Yesavage will prove to be worth the wait for those who got him at a discount at the end of the spring. He’ll face the Twins next time out.