The Toronto Blue Jays snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating the San Francisco Giants 9-3 at Oracle Park on Tuesday, July 7, 2026.
Jonatan Clase hit his first home run of the season to trigger a dominant offensive outbreak after recent scoring struggles.
Toronto accumulated 11 hits and scored eight runs within the first three innings against Giants starter Trevor McDonald, who surrendered eight runs in 2 1/3 innings.
Ernie Clement recorded three hits, while Sean Keys contributed two RBIs during a five-run third inning to seal the victory.
Prior to the game, Blue Jays manager John Schneider held individual discussions with players regarding the team's performance, stressing the need for fundamental improvements during difficult stretches of the season.
"The way I look at it is the most important thing right now is July 7th, not July 8th or July 6th – you have to approach it that way," said John Schneider, Manager.
Schneider emphasized that minor details required adjustments to ensure cleaner execution on the field moving forward.
"There are definitely things you talk about with some guys and say, we get it when you're struggling, but there are some things that need to be a little cleaner," said John Schneider, Manager.
The manager expressed that the roster needed to move past previous struggles effectively.
"Really trying to kick it into gear a little bit," said John Schneider, Manager.
Hitting Coach's Perspective
Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins also worked extensively to mentally prepare the lineup before the matchup, noting that pressure often accumulates when players find themselves in tense situations.
"Protective states, stressed states," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
Popkins compared the team's defensive approach at the plate during their recent slump to a boxer who focuses exclusively on blocking incoming attacks.
"Similar to a fighter that is trying to defend eight different punches at once and just trying to react versus just throw a haymaker and see what happens, get a punch off," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
He noted that baseball can exert immense psychological pressure on athletes until they refuse to continue fighting back.
"This game will have a grip on your throat, it will hold you down until you quit," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
Popkins reiterated that continuous determination remains essential for the roster to overcome prolonged hitting slumps.
"But you've got to keep fighting," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
According to Popkins, establishing an elite offense requires maintaining two distinct psychological advantages over opposing pitching staffs.
"One is scaring teams out of the zone and the second one is scaring teams into the zone," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
He expanded on how proper plate discipline forces pitchers to throw more predictable pitches within strike zones.
"You scare them out of the zone by punishing them and then you scare them back into the zone by having an approach and making sure you're not swinging at borderline pitches," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
Popkins detailed how opposing teams had previously exploited Toronto's tendency to chase pitches outside the strike zone.
"Right now we're at the stage of scaring them back into the zone.
Teams know that we're going to, right now, expand and they don't have to make perfect pitches, they just need to throw it close to the vicinity and they'll walk us out of the zone slowly.
When a pitcher knows that, he can actually dot his pitches.
Looked at a lot of pitching charts and we've got guys that have absolutely been hitting their spots.
And it's like, man, how is everyone hitting their spots? It's just because we haven't scared them back into the zone," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
The hitting coach also addressed the ongoing adjustments being made by star infielder Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to optimize his swing mechanics.
"Is more like an orchestra, every instrument needs to play at the right time," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
Popkins specified that Guerrero has faced physical challenges utilizing his lower body power efficiently this season compared to prior campaigns.
"It's been a little harder for him this year to get stacked on the backside fully, ride closes and turn behind the ball like he has in the past, really drive his legs down behind the ball into the ground.
… Once he gets through this, it's going to be pretty violent," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
Despite the challenges, Popkins maintained unwavering confidence in the collective capabilities of the current Blue Jays roster.
"I have the utmost belief in our group," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
He concluded that the inherent talent within the organization would eventually yield consistent results once the current hurdle is cleared.
"We've seen what it looks like for a very long period of time. And this group has the ability, we have the talent to do it.
Once we get through this, I think there's really nothing that can stop this group. But it's," said David Popkins, Hitting Coach.
Patrick Corbin earned the victory after retiring seven batters in relief, while San Francisco's Heliot Ramos and Luis Arraez collected two hits each.
The series concludes on Wednesday when Toronto's Dylan Cease faces San Francisco's Logan Webb.
