Toronto Blue Jays Off to One of Worst Offensive Starts to a Season in Team History

The Toronto Blue Jays lost 3-2 to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, giving them a meager 3.8 runs per game through the first 25 contests of the 2024 season.

Apr 22, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho (25) hugs Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27). / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Blue Jays' struggles at the plate continued Wednesday night, as yet another lackluster performance led to a 3-2 loss at the hands of the Kansas City Royals.

Toronto went 0-for-7 with runs in scoring position in Kansas City, in addition to going 1-for-10 between the seventh and ninth innings. As a result, their already disappointing scoring average took yet another dip down to 3.8 runs per game this season.

The Blue Jays have scored 95 runs through 25 games, which are tied for the sixth-fewest in franchise history, per StatsCentre.

Fewest runs scored as a team through the first 25 games of a season - #BlueJays franchise history (1977-present):
86 in 1981
87 in 1978
89 in 2017
93 in 2013
94 in 1998
95 in 2024 (Going 0-7 with runners in scoring position en route to losing 3-2 to the Royals tonight)
95 in 2022

— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) April 25, 2024

Notably, the 2022 Blue Jays also had exactly 95 runs through 25 games. That season, Toronto fired manager Charlie Montoyo just before the All-Star break.

While the Blue Jays did go 92-70 and earn an AL Wild Card spot that year, it took a major midseason change to reach that point. John Scheinder was the interim manager who helped that team turn things around, and now it remains to be seen if he can do so as the full-time man in charge.

As for the five Blue Jays teams who scored fewer runs than the 2024 squad through 25 games, they all missed the playoffs.

Toronto's offensive struggles can be tied to their biggest stars failing to produce, namely Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. The former is batting .219 with a .674 OPS, while the latter is batting .231 with a .631 OPS.

The two young batters have five All-Star appearances between them, but neither appear on track do earn the votes here in 2024.

Toronto is still 13-12 on the season, but they are only 0.5 games up on last place in the AL East. The Blue Jays will close out their series with the 15-10 Royals at 2:10 p.m. ET on Thursday before hosting the 15-11 Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend.

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