EN 
DE 
Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider was hoping a big hit would ignite his struggling team’s offence. Instead, it was aggressive baserunning that sparked a comeback.
Davis Schneider showcased heads-up baserunning in the eighth inning, helping the Blue Jays secure a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, snapping a six-game losing streak. After advancing from first to third, Schneider dashed home on a throw mishandled by Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas during an attempted pickoff after Andres Gimenez stole second.
“I didn’t want to get thrown out at home, I was trying to double-steal and was just seeing it through,” Schneider said. “Luckily they made a mistake.”
Though Will Smith’s throw to second was solid, Rojas couldn’t hold onto the ball as Gimenez slid headfirst. The ball bounced away, allowing Schneider to score easily.
“I like that we’re taking advantage of that stuff right now, kind of in those margins,” John Schneider said. “So Schneider being heads up, it was an all-around good game for him.”
The Blue Jays’ offence showed signs of life in the seventh inning, tying the game with two runs. George Springer contributed an RBI double that nearly cleared the outfield wall, followed by an RBI single from Daulton Varsho.
Coming into the three-game series having been outscored 18-3 in the first two games, this timely hitting was a welcome boost.
“You need a win to just get back to neutral a little bit, shake hands, high five, get the lights on in the clubhouse and enjoy an off day,” John Schneider said.
Toronto starter Dylan Cease went five-plus innings, allowing one earned run and four hits. Despite leaving the game with the bases loaded and no outs, reliever Louis Varland held the Dodgers to a single run via a sacrifice fly.
Submarine-style pitcher Tyler Rogers earned the win by getting five outs, while closer Jeff Hoffman secured his second save despite allowing two baserunners.
“There’s definitely a lot of fight in this group,” Cease said. “We’re not exactly thrilled with how we’ve started, but nobody’s panicking, everyone’s showing up and just continuing to battle. So that’s what you’re looking for really.”
On the Dodgers’ side, two-way star Shohei Ohtani pitched six innings, surrendering an unearned run and four hits. Jack Dreyer took the blown save, and Ben Casparius was credited with the loss.
This interleague series marked the first meeting between the Blue Jays and Dodgers since the Dodgers clinched the World Series in Game 7 on Toronto’s home turf last autumn. Both teams have a day off Thursday.
The Blue Jays, now 5-7, will resume their homestand Friday against the Minnesota Twins.
“It’s such a long season ahead of us,” Davis Schneider said. “Obviously we were not starting the way we wanted to start it with all the injuries and the losses, but there’s still 150 games left. So there’s still a lot of baseball to be played and hopefully we can use this as a jump-start into a win streak here.”
