Dylan Cease, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. injury scares overshadow much-needed Blue Jays win

The Toronto Blue Jays finally got the result they desperately needed on Sunday afternoon, but even a 7-2 win over the Texas Rangers came with some bad news.

Toronto avoided a sweep at Globe Life Field and kept its fading American League Wild Card hopes alive, yet the bigger story may have been what happened around the win. Dylan Cease has already been scratched from his next scheduled start because of shoulder fatigue, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was removed from Sunday’s game with left lower back tightness.

The final playoff spot is still within their grasp but reaching that goal becomes a lot harder now if neither Guerrero, nor Cease, can help them for the rest of that chase.

The Blue Jays entered Sunday having lost four of their previous five games and needed to stop the bleeding. They got another strong opener outing from Spencer Miles (3.0 IP, two hits, four strikeouts, no runs). They also cashed in on their chances offensively with 11 hits and going 4-for-13 with RISP.

Brett Bateman set the tone from the leadoff spot, reaching base and scoring three times. Nathan Lukes drove him in twice. Kazuma Okamoto delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the fifth.

Toronto improved to 77-79 with the victory, keeping the club 2.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox for the third and final AL Wild Card spot.

The win, though, did little to ease the biggest concern hanging over the club. Cease, Toronto’s ace and one of the best pitchers in the American League for much of the season, will not make his scheduled start Wednesday against the Orioles after undergoing an MRI on his right shoulder in Toronto.

Manager John Schneider described the issue as shoulder fatigue rather than pain and did not rule out the possibility of Cease returning during the final series against the Cincinnati Reds. Losing Cease for any amount of time is a brutal blow.

It also puts his recent struggles in a different light. Cease lasted only 2.2 innings in Friday’s 7-1 loss to Texas, walking six and showing another noticeable dip in velocity. His fastball touched the lowest mark of his career at 90.0 mph.

Cease told reporters he had been hoping the issue would improve on its own, but it had not bounced back the way he expected which led to the MRI.

As if the Cease situation was not concerning enough, Guerrero gave the Blue Jays another scare on Sunday when he left the game in the fourth inning with left lower back tightness.

Guerrero had gone 1-for-2 before exiting, but he did not appear to be moving comfortably out of the batter’s box. Schneider later said Guerrero aggravated the issue a couple of games earlier while making a stretch at first base.

“It was a little tight before the game,” Schneider said. “So, just wanted to be careful. Hopefully he's good for tomorrow.”

The Blue Jays are running out of healthy answers as season comes down to the final six contests

This has to have caused mixed feelings for Blue Jays' fans. On one hand, the Blue Jays beat a playoff contender on the road. On the other, they finished the day with more uncertainty around two prominent players on the roster.

Toronto’s rotation plan for the upcoming Orioles series was already going to be a "pitching by committee" approach. Trey Yesavage is expected to start Monday, but will be used more like an opener than a traditional starter. Max Scherzer looks to go Tuesday, and a to-be-determined option in the spot Cease was supposed to fill is penciled in for Wednesday. All of this comes after a Rangers series in which Blue Jays starters combined for just 10.2 innings, forcing the bullpen to cover the remaining 14.1.

The Blue Jays have spent most of September trying to survive one problem after another. Now, with the standings still offering a narrow path and the schedule nearly out of room, they may have to do it without Cease for at least one start and with Guerrero’s status uncertain heading into Baltimore.

That is not enough to erase the importance of Sunday’s win. But it does make it nearly impossible to celebrate without wondering what it might have cost.

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