ATLANTA — All things considered, this has been quite a week for the Toronto Blue Jays.
They’ve played seven games since they left Toronto last week, winning three and losing four. On the surface: sounds pretty normal. In reality: not the case.
There have been many firsts, like the first career home run for Charles McAdoo, the first career save for Braydon Fisher, the first career start for Adam Macko and the first career appearance for Chad Dallas.
The trip has also included low points, like a painful blown save by Jeff Hoffman in Baltimore, a fan throwing a baseball off Jesus Sanchez’s hand and struggles from the likes of Austin Voth and Hayden Juenger, both jettisoned from the roster before they could get lockers at Rogers Centre.
But while the trip included its share of emotional lows, there were some encouraging moments and few, if any, were bigger than the win over Chris Sale at Truist Park Thursday to take the series finale 7-2 and head back home 30-33.
“It kind of sums up our season in that there’s a lot of stuff happening,” manager John Schneider said. “There’s been some weirdness to this trip. There’s been some weirdness and randomness to this season. Now it’s on to the next.”
Clearly, there’s more work ahead — and the upcoming homestand against the Orioles, Phillies and Yankees will provide immediate tests for a team still rolling with a three-man rotation and two bullpen games.
But give the Blue Jays credit on two fronts Thursday. Not only did they find ways to get to Sale for three runs on 10 hits, they limited the NL’s best team to only two runs on a bullpen day built around Dallas, who earned his first big-league win in his debut with a range of emotions pushing toward the surface.
Offensively, McAdoo drove in the first run of the game with a single up the middle against Sale, the future Hall of Famer who entered play with a 2.01 ERA. Soon afterwards, Myles Straw drove in two with another single to centre and the Blue Jays had a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“We know how good he is,” Straw said. “And he’s having a great year.”
“You can’t really get into two-strike counts with him. He’s got some wipeout pitches. That backfoot slider’s no joke.”
“Up and down the lineup, just a really good approach,” Schneider said. “We were pesky and got some timely hits.”
“I mean, you don’t want to get swept,” Straw added. “Go home on a happy flight and turn the page to the next series.”
As for Dallas, he impressed in a bulk role following opener Mason Fluharty, covering 3.2 innings while allowing one run on two hits and recording the first two strikeouts of his career. It’s been an emotional week for the 25-year-old right-hander, who learned on Lou Gehrig Day that he’d be making his MLB debut.
That’s especially significant for Dallas, who lost his father to ALS in 2025.
“It was extremely special, like a little God wink,” Dallas said. “I dreamed of this day since I was three or four years old.”
“Tons of emotions. Sad. Tons of happy. Super-excited. But overall, it was an amazing experience.”
A strong contingent of friends and family was on site Thursday to watch him pitch opposite Sale.
“Very cool,” Dallas said. “I’ll remember that for a long time.”
As for what’s next, Schneider declined to speculate on how Dallas will be used, but he has now proven himself clearly capable of covering multiple innings at the MLB level when needed.
“We were banking on the character and the confidence and the stuff,” Schneider said. “He was great.”
After Dallas exited, the Blue Jays turned to their leverage relievers and Tyler Rogers, Hoffman, Fisher and Louis Varland combined to allow just one run — a Mauricio Dubon solo shot off Fisher — in four innings.
“The bullpen did an amazing job,” Straw said. “They just killed it, honestly.”
As for the Blue Jays’ rotation, reinforcements are on the way, starting with Simeon Woods Richardson, the former Blue Jays prospect who was acquired from the Twins Wednesday. While Woods Richardson was a credible back-end starter from 2024-25, he has a 7.74 ERA this season and opposing hitters are batting at least .315 on each of his three most-used pitches.
The Blue Jays may look to nudge Woods Richardson away from his splitter — the worst pitch in MLB this season, according to Baseball Savant’s pitch run values — but it’s possible he’s more than one adjustment away.
Thankfully, Dylan Cease continues pushing closer to the majors, with Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber not far behind him. Pitching in a rehab outing at triple-A Thursday, Cease threw 75 pitches while allowing five runs on six hits and striking out six.
Still three games under .500, the Blue Jays are not yet where they need to be. At least they return home still in the playoff mix and having responded well to a significant challenge in Sale.
“The boys are starting to click as a team,” Straw said. “And that’s all that really matters.”
