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Scherzer finds his stuff in strong start
TORONTO – Pitcher Max Scherzer’s second start at Rogers Centre this season was far more successful than this first.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner pitched five strong innings on Monday night as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the New York Yankees 5-4. Scherzer struck out seven while allowing three hits and two runs on 71 pitches.
He also did not walk a batter, and his fastball topped out at over 95 miles-per-hour.
“I thought I was on the ball better today,” said Scherzer post-game. “I kind of made a little adjustment in-between starts and I felt like it got me in and really started dialing in pitches.”
Scherzer was forced to leave his first start with the Blue Jays on March 29 after just 41 pitches due to a thumb issue, spending the next three months on the Injured List. Monday was just his third start of the season.
“I felt like I had a good fastball tonight,” he said, crediting the pitch for his success against a vaunted Yankees lineup.
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“I was able to pitch with that and set up every other pitch and it allowed me to kind of navigate their lineup a little bit when I was in there. So, there’s a lot of good.”
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This version of Scherzer appears to be the version the Blue Jays were expecting when they signed him to a one-year contract worth $15.5 million.
“It was evident with the way he started the game, that, yeah, that’s the best version of Max that we’ve seen” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider following the game.
“That’s who he is,” said Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. “He’s the type of person who comes here early every day, always focuses on the game, and gives you everything he’s got.”
Scherzer’s return has come at an opportune time for the Blue Jays.
With the club in the thick of a divisional race, Monday’s victory leaves the Blue Jays just two games back of the Yankees for the American League East lead.
The Blue Jays have gone 30-18 since May 8, earning the third-best winning percentage in the majors during that span while also ranking top-10 in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and OPS.
“Everybody’s been doing their job,” said Guerrero Jr. “Just helping each other. And we trust in each other a lot. So, we’ve been playing great as a team.”
It was a total team effort for the Blue Jays on Monday.
Guerrero Jr. drove home three runs with a single and double, while second baseman Davis Schneider finished 2-for-3 with a double and shortstop Ernie Clement went 2-for-5 with one RBI.
With the lead down to one in the bottom of the ninth, closer Jeff Hoffman entered the game and pitched a scoreless frame to secure the victory and earn his 19th save of the year, ranking him third among American League pitchers.
“It felt like a very meaningful baseball game,” said Schneider. “It is June. It’ll be July tomorrow (Tuesday), and tomorrow’s a big day for us as a team and as a country. I’m sure it’ll be fun again tomorrow.”
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Right-hander Kevin Gausman (6-6) starts for the Jays on Canada Day, while the visiting Yankees will hand the ball to left-hander Max Fried (10-2).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
TORONTO – Blue Jays slugger George Springer has been cleared to return to game action after suffering a concussion over two weeks ago, Toronto manager John Schneider said Wednesday.
The 35-year-old outfielder/designated hitter hasn’t played since July 28 when he was hit in the helmet by a fastball thrown by Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kade Strowd.
Springer, who was on hand for batting practice before Toronto’s game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night, was expected to play for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Thursday.
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“Play DH tomorrow and then see if he needs a game in the outfield to see how he feels,” Schneider said in his pre-game availability. “But he’ll be doing that tomorrow.”
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Springer has been one of the top offensive performers this season for the Blue Jays (70-50), who had a 4 1/2-game lead on the Boston Red Sox in the American League East standings entering play Wednesday.
Over 101 games, Springer has a .291 average, 18 homers, 57 RBIs and an on-base and slugging percentage of .889.
Strowd’s 96-m.p.h. pitch appeared to hit Springer’s shoulder before making contact with his helmet near the ear flap. After laying prone for a moment or two, Springer got up slowly and left the field with some assistance.
He was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list on July 29.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Two delightfully shaggy new faces will be on display at the Toronto Zoo starting on Friday.
The nine-month-old brothers are Scottish Highland cattle, with long, woolly, reddish coats and fringe over their eyes.
The zoo’s manager of wildlife care, Marc Brandson, says the two were born and raised at a local Ontario farm before moving to the zoo about a month ago.
He says they completed a quarantine period and now live just outside the Eurasia Wilds area of the zoo.
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Membership holders can visit the brothers at a pre-screening on Thursday, while other visitors can see them starting Friday.
Brandson says there is “a lot of excitement” around the pair because of how popular the Highland breed already is.
He says the zoo is hoping to have the brothers walk through the public area of the zoo as part of its animal ambassador program, which can give visitors a closer look at certain animals.
“Each and every day, our outreach and discovery staff are working to get them to that level,” he said.
“Having a bonded pair is a really great social situation for Highland cows. These brothers are very calm and they are gaining confidence each and every day that they interact with their caregivers.”
The brothers don’t have names yet, and Brandson says the public should stay tuned on ways to contribute naming ideas.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner says the federal government needs to do more to fight Canada’s devastating forest fires.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday in Ottawa, the Alberta MP accused Ottawa of “inaction” on wildfires. She also blamed that lack of action for new measures restricting activities in the forests of two provinces — even though those bans were imposed by the provinces themselves.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick last week banned hiking, fishing, camping and the use of vehicles in its forests in response to the heightened wildfire risk.
Rempel Garner said that while she understands the fear Maritimers feel, restricting individuals’ movements is “not right.”
“Whenever there’s a major crisis, what the Liberal government has done by their inaction has conditioned Canadians to expect that the only response they can see out of their federal government is to restrict their movement,” Rempel Garner told reporters.
“We’re calling on the federal government to actually get serious about this issue.”
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Conservative MP Marc Dalton presented a bill last year to stiffen penalties for wildfires caused by arson. It never made it past first reading and died when Parliament was dissolved ahead of this year’s election.
Rempel Garner said that’s one area where the Liberals could have taken action on wildfires. She also called on the federal government to dedicate more resources to wildfire control.
In its 2021 election platform, the Liberals promised to train 1,000 community-based firefighters to fight wildfires and to work with provinces and territories to get them more firefighting planes.
Last month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters that Alberta-based water bomber manufacturer De Havilland was facing a four-year backlog of orders.
“Four full wildfire seasons ago, the Liberals promised more water bombers, more firefighters,” Rempel Garner said. “Where are they?”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston brushed off the criticisms of the forest entry ban at a press conference later Wednesday.
“I find it remarkable, the interest in travelling in Nova Scotia woods by people who aren’t in Nova Scotia and probably haven’t been here much in their life,” Houston told reporters.
“We’re only concerned with keeping people safe. We’ll do what’s necessary to protect lives, and that’s what we’re doing in this case.”
So far this season, the total area of the country burned by wildfires is nearly the size of the entire province of New Brunswick.
— With files from Sarah Ritchie.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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