Manager John Schneider was left explaining a walk-off loss to the Athletics on Monday that turned partly on chances the Blue Jays never got to challenge, after Toronto used both of its replay challenges earlier in the game and had none left when questionable calls piled up in the ninth.
Toronto fell 6-5 at Sutter Health Park after Jeff McNeil’s soft, 51.9 mph infield single scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. The sequence that preceded it, a leadoff single, a walk, a bunt attempt turned into an out at third by a strong Vladimir Guerrero Jr. play, and a bases-loading walk, unfolded under plate umpire Chad Fairchild’s strike zone, which was inconsistent through the night. With both of Toronto’s challenges already spent earlier in the game, the club had no way to contest any of the close calls that decided the inning.
“We’ve got to shake this one off and come back tomorrow,” Schneider said after the game. Asked about the finish, he added, “It’s going to happen sometimes.” Of reliever Louis Varland, who took the loss after allowing the tying and winning traffic in the ninth, Schneider said, “No one else I’d rather have out there than Louis. Good placement by them.”
Varland had not been sharp. He walked Donovan Walton and allowed a leadoff single to Max Muncy before Alika Williams’ bunt attempt turned into an out at third, and Henry Bolte’s walk loaded the bases ahead of McNeil’s game-ending hit.
The loss overshadowed a Toronto rally that briefly looked like it would salvage the night. Down 5-1 after five innings, the Blue Jays scored three in the seventh on Kazuma Okamoto’s 423-foot home run, an RBI double from Andres Gimenez, singles by Nathan Lukes and Ernie Clement, and a pinch-hit sacrifice fly from Josh Smith. Gimenez then tied the game with a home run in the top of the ninth, only for Toronto’s bullpen to give the lead right back.
The result left the Blue Jays a game behind the final American League wild-card position, a margin that held only because Cleveland also lost Monday. Toronto returns to Sutter Health Park for an earlier 9:40 a.m. ET start, with Jose Soriano opposing Oakland’s Jack Perkins.
via Bluebird Banter (SB Nation) and Yahoo Sports, Sept. 8, 2026; postgame comments via MLB.com.
