The Toronto Blue Jays closed out a disappointing season Sunday afternoon with a 3-1 loss to the Miami Marlins at Rogers Centre.
Marlins starter Ryan Weathers allowed one run and three hits over 6 1/3 innings. Jonah Bride drove in two runs for Miami in the interleague game between last-place clubs.
The few moments of excitement for the 31,688 in attendance came when Blue Jays leadoff hitter Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was at the plate. He remained one hit short of the 200-mark for the season after two walks, a groundout and a strikeout.
The three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Marlins (62-100) served as a fitting end to a forgettable Blue Jays campaign.
After reaching the playoffs three times in the last four years, Toronto expected to be a contender in 2024 but instead was mostly mediocre.
The team’s offence never got on track and bullpen woes were a consistent issue. The Blue Jays posted middling results in the early going and never recovered from a seven-game losing skid in mid-June.
Toronto fell into last place in the American League East on June 19 and held that position the rest of the way. The 74-88 mark was Toronto’s worst record since a 67-95 showing in 2019.
The Marlins, who entered the series with the worst record in the National League, outscored Toronto 26-7 for their lone road sweep of the season.
They attacked Blue Jays opener Ryan Burr (0-2) with three singles over their first four at-bats. Bride brought two runs home when his drive up the middle caromed off shortstop Ernie Clement’s glove and rolled into centre field.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom half but Weathers escaped without giving up a run.
Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough served in a bulk role and held the Marlins scoreless over a 52-pitch outing. With Dillon Tate on the mound, Otto Lopez drove in Bride with a double to make it 3-0.
Weathers (5-7) was pulled after giving up a one-out double to Luis De Los Santos in the seventh. De Los Santos scored Toronto’s lone run on a Joey Loperfido groundout.
Guerrero’s bid to reach the 200-hit mark ended in the eighth inning when he was pulled for a pinch-runner after a leadoff walk.
Miami outhit Toronto 9-4. Anthony Bender recorded the last four outs for his first save.
The game took two hours 37 minutes to play.
ROSTER MOVES
Before the game, the Blue Jays recalled left-hander Brandon Eisert from Triple-A Buffalo and optioned right-handed starter Yariel Rodriguez to the team’s spring training complex.
Rodriguez pitched into the sixth inning in an 8-1 loss to Miami a day earlier.
COMING UP
The Blue Jays will begin spring training in mid-February at Dunedin, Fla. The Grapefruit League opener is set for Feb. 22 against the New York Yankees.
Toronto will open the 2025 regular season on March 27 against the visiting Baltimore Orioles.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2024.