Devin Williams' blown save prevented Blue Jays from reaching harrowing reality

The Blue Jays’ win against the Yankees on Friday night looked like it could help turn Toronto’s season around. 

After only scoring two runs in their three games series against the Houston Astros earlier in the week, the Blue Jays picked up a come-from-behind win against closer Devin Williams.

 Vibes were high after the game, and it seemed like the blue Jays were set up for a big weekend. 

Instead, it ended up being a weekend where the Blue Jays may have hit rock bottom.

 Devin Williams' blown save prevented Blue Jays from reaching harrowing reality

Toronto’s comeback against Williams on Friday was a classic Blue Jays moment reminiscent of the postseason teams of 2022 and ‘23. 

After George Springer opened the inning with a single, Andrés Giménez was hit by a pitch t put two runners on base. Two pitches after that, Alejandro Kirk sent a Williams fastball to deep center field to give the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead.

Then the rain came on Saturday, and the Blue Jays had to wait to try to build on that momentum. 

They were never able to. 

Toronto laid two eggs on Sunday, losing 11-2 and 5-1 to the doubleheader to drop their record to 13-15. 

And, if it weren’t for that comeback against Williams, the Blue Jays offense would have reached a low that no one would have foreseen at the start of the season. 

After Sunday’s games, the Blue Jays now have a run differential of -27 on the season, which trails the lowly Chicago White Sox. 

That’s right. The White Sox, who are coming off the worst season in baseball history, have a better run differential than a team that entered the season with legitimatie world series concerns. 

Both teams have scored 95 runs, but the Blue Jays have allowed 122 runs on the season, which is two more than Chicago.

The Blue Jays’ comeback on Williams could have been the perfect jumping off point for a strong run. 

While Williams is struggling this season (Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced he was removing Williams from the closer role after blowing Friday’s game), it was still encouraging to see Toronto’s offense find success against the two time All-Star. 

But then they didn’t do anything on Sunday. 

While they had 11 hits in Game 1, they only managed to score two runs in a game where Kevin Gausman allowed six runs in 2 2/3 innings before being ejected.

Game 2 wasn’t much better, as their only run came on the back of an Anthony Santander home run. It was one of three hits.

The Jays’ offensive struggles are becoming a huge storyline for the Blue Jays. 

While the Blue Jays’ .260 batting average is higher than league-average, they’ve only hit 15 home runs (the second-lowest mark in MLB) and have a team wRC+ of 93. 

The Blue Jays spent a lot of money on their offense in the past couple months between Anthony Santander’s $92.5 million contract and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s $500 million extension, yet the Blue Jays somehow only have 15 home runs.

The Blue Jays only hit three home runs as a team last week, while Arizona’s Eugenio Suárez hit four home runs in one game on Saturday. 

That's inexcusable.

Toronto needs to figure things out fast. Friday’s performance against Williams was a positive sign, but they promptly washed all that away with a sluggish showing on Sunday. 

The rest of the American League East isn’t going to wait around while the Blue Jays figure things out. If the Blue Jays seriously want to compete for the postseason, they’ll need to turn things around soon.