NEW YORK -- Two numbers are dangling in front of the Blue Jays’ rotation down the stretch: six and 100.
Six innings and 100 pitches have always been important, but now more than ever. A messy month has asked entirely too much of this bullpen -- which has often made more of a mess -- and Toronto’s veteran starters know that it’s their job to set the table now. It’s what all five of these veterans were built to do.
A one-hour, 46-minute rain delay stopped Chris Bassitt shy of these numbers in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Yankees, but when the skies are clear, he’s an endurance runner on the mound. The Blue Jays have done a decent enough job of hitting these numbers in 2025, too. This rotation has gone six innings or more 60 times, which ranks ninth in the big leagues, and the 15 times Toronto’s starters have thrown 100 pitches or more rank right in the middle of the pack.
“The reality is that we have to go 100 pitches, especially this last month,” Kevin Gausman said. “We’ve taxed our bullpen enough. Now, we just need to get to that 100-pitch mark consistently. With the guys that we have, we can do that. We feel pretty confident that we can give one, maybe two [relievers] the night off each night.”
Take Saturday’s loss as the perfect case study, which allowed the Yankees to move within three games of the Blue Jays in the American League East. Bassitt looked sharp over five innings and was only lifted due to the rain delay, not by any fault of his own. But it still shows what this bullpen looks like when that door swings open in the sixth inning, not the seventh or eighth.
In a dream world, manager John Schneider would get a mix of starts like the one Bassitt was on track for -- right around those magic numbers of six innings and 100 pitches -- mixed in with some more dominant outings. Gausman gave the Blue Jays one of these in the series-opening win on Friday, throwing eight innings of one-run ball. Only Braydon Fisher was needed to clean up the ninth, and coming out of an off-day, it allowed the entire group to fully reset.
“Game state comes in, but you want guys to keep going and you want to keep the bullpen in line,” Schneider said. “They all want to go 100, 110 pitches. If you throw in an extra day of rest, it’s even easier to do that. Then, if they’re throwing well, it’s really easy to do that. Every game is different. I’m not saying eight innings every time, but if you get into the sixth or through six, you’re usually in pretty good shape.”
This is all about keeping it small and simple in the bullpen. The Blue Jays want to be leaning on Jeff Hoffman, Seranthony Domínguez and Yariel Rodríguez in big spots. They’d love Louis Varland to find his groove, too, but Saturday’s appearance was another uneven one. That has been balanced out by some success stories like Tommy Nance, but still, Toronto can’t afford to be rolling out four or five relievers every single night as it tries to lock up the AL East.
It’s nights like José Berríos’ most recent start which can complicate things. Tuesday in Cincinnati, Berríos lasted just two innings, and out came five relievers. Nights like those scramble Schneider’s ideal bullpen usage for that night and the next one, but the tighter these plans can stay, the easier September will be.
There’s still so much upside in this group, especially if the Blue Jays can get Brendon Little and Varland on track at the same time. The fewer variables, the better.
It’s easier on Toronto’s starters, too, when they know that their defense and offense will typically have their back. The bats were quiet Saturday, but as one of baseball’s best comeback teams, the Blue Jays are never out of a game.
“It’s just about trusting the guys behind me and trusting the offense,” Bassitt said after Saturday’s loss. “There’s never too much [focus] one way or the other on what I’m doing or what I’m trying to do, not a ton of pressure on one specific moment. I just don’t let anything get too big.”
The next big test comes in the rubber match against the Yankees on Sunday afternoon with Max Scherzer on the mound. The deeper the Blue Jays’ starters go in September, the deeper we’ll likely see this team go in October.