By The Numbers: Blue Jays can tie franchise mark with another poor offensive showing
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The Toronto Blue Jays have the chance to match a franchise record on Wednesday when they battle the Boston Red Sox.
And it isn't one they will be proud of.
If the Blue Jays score four or fewer runs in their next game against Boston, that will tie the franchise record for consecutive games in which they failed to score five runs.
When Toronto beat the Atlanta Braves 6-3 on April 15, the team improved to 10-8 to continue an encouraging start to their campaign. Anthony Santander and Alan Roden hit home runs in the win.
Since then, the team has scored four or fewer runs in 11 straight games. They've failed to score more than four runs in 12 consecutive games three times in the past - from July 22 - August 4, 1977, June 20-30 in 1979 and September 14-26 in 1997.
Predictably, those three versions of the Blue Jays were not successful teams.
Blue Jays' results in offence-starved seasons
| Season | Runs scored | Runs per game | MLB rank in runs | Season record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 605 | 3.76 | Second-worst | 54-107 |
| 1979 | 613 | 3.78 | Fifth-worst | 53-109 |
| 1997 | 654 | 4.03 | Second-worst | 76-86 |
| 2025 | 97 | 3.00 | Third-worst | 13-16 |
Entering the offseason in November last year, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins did not list improving the offence amongst his highest priorities, per MLB.com's Keegan Matheson.
The offence ranked 23rd in the majors in runs scored a year ago, and hit the fifth-fewest home runs (156) in the majors.
Those numbers have gotten uglier this year, as they enter play on Wednesday at third-worst in runs scored and second-worst in home runs hit - this despite the addition of free-agent slugger Santander, who hit 44 home runs last season with the Baltimore Orioles.
Santander has produced a .179 batting average in his first season in Toronto with three home runs - joining a large group of outfielders who have been unable to produce at the plate for the Jays this year.
Blue Jays outfielders struggling to produce
| Player | At bats | Batting average | Home runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Santander | 124 | .179 | 3 |
| George Springer | 83 | .313 | 2 |
| Alan Roden | 69 | .188 | 1 |
| Myles Straw | 46 | .304 | 1 |
| Nathan Lukes | 36 | .222 | 1 |
| Addison Barger | 23 | .217 | 0 |
| Davis Schneider | 15 | .067 | 0 |
George Springer and Myles Straw have delivered good batting averages, but the collective outfield group has failed to produce for power as a whole.
The average slugging percentage across the league of .392 is surpassed only by Springer and Straw of the team's outfielders, and three outfielders to have played significant innings - Santander, Roden and Nathan Lukes - have slugging percentages below .300.
Gold Glove-winning centre fielder Daulton Varsho made his season debut on Tuesday after missing extended time while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but given his below-league-average bat, an OPS+ of 84 in 2023 and 97 in 2024, it still leaves significant question marks over whether he can improve the hitting situation for the team.
Toronto is also still waiting on stars Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to start delivering in an impactful way. Both players hold respectable batting averages (.290 for Bichette, .271 for Guerrero), but the two have combined for just three home runs and 27 runs batted in.
Given the slow start most teams in the American League are playing through, the Jays sit just 4.5 games out of the lead in the division. But the offence needs to wake up to get back into contention.