Blue Jays in search of top form amid struggles
TORONTO – Chris Bassitt is not about to reach for the panic button despite the recent play of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays wasted a solid six-inning effort from Bassitt with their sixth loss in eight games, a 7-4 defeat in 10 innings to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. Toronto (65-48) still leads the American League East by three games over the Boston Red Sox, an advantage built by a 49-28 record since May 8, the best run by an AL team during that stretch.
Bassitt believes his club has suffered a letdown after emerging from the all-star break by winning two of three from the rival New York Yankees and three of four from the Detroit Tigers, who at the time had Major League Baseball’s best record.
“Then I thought we just laid an egg in Baltimore, where we ran into a super-hot Baltimore offence, and we just weren’t ready for it,” said Bassitt of the Orioles winning three times in the four-game series.
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“Unfortunately, it happens.”
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The Royals arrived in Toronto having won seven of their last 10. The rubber-match win on Sunday, before 41,461 at Rogers Centre, meant the Blue Jays dropped back-to-back series for the first time since mid-May.
“You just take your licks,” Bassitt said. “It’s going to happen through the year.
“It’s just getting back to who we are as a team, good pitching from the starters to the bullpen and just grind out at-bats.”
There was also the trade deadline on Thursday. It yielded the Blue Jays three new pitchers and first baseman Ty France.
France did not play in the series finale against the Royals. But the three pitchers performed on Sunday to mixed reviews.
Reliever Louis Varland gave up the tying run in the eighth inning, and Seranthony Dominguez was hammered for five more in the 10th.
Meanwhile, in his first rehab start for triple-A Buffalo, Shane Bieber was encouraging. He tossed 62 pitches in five innings, surrendering two runs, including a homer, on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
Toronto manager John Schneider would like to keep Bieber with five days of rest between starts, but his next outing will not be set in stone until the Blue Jays staff sees how he feels after this latest start.
“I think hearing his comments after the game are more encouraging,” Schneider said.
The 30-year-old Bieber, who underwent Tommy John surgery on April 12, 2024, reported he felt “great” and “excited” about where he’s at in the recovery process.
“We’re taking it a start at a time,” Schneider said. “But I think from the stuff, the number of pitches, the (velocity), it’s really encouraging.”
Bieber sat beside Bassitt in the Blue Jays’ dugout on Saturday.
Part of their conversation was some sage advice on the stages of recovery after Tommy John surgery. Bassitt underwent the procedure on his right arm in May 2016.
“Most of it’s private,” said Bassitt, when asked about what they talked about. “From a stance of what I can talk about, it was just how his (Tommy John) rehab was going.
“I’ve been through it. So just understanding what he’s going through, how he’s feeling, the bad and good feelings of the process and things like that. I was wondering where he was at.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Spirits maker Diageo will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., early next year, as it shifts some bottling volume to the U.S., the company announced on Thursday.
The facility, which bottles Crown Royal products, will close in February in a move aimed at improving its North American supply chain.
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About 200 jobs will be affected.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s president of North America supply, said in a statement.
Diageo said it will engage with the community and find ways to support its employees through the transition, and work alongside Unifor to assist unionized workers.
The company said it will still maintain a “significant” footprint in Canada — including its headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area, and bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec.
McIntosh added the company’s Crown Royal products will continue to be mashed, distilled and aged at its Canadian facilities.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Toronto police say a 33-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly striking two men with his car Wednesday evening.
Officers say they responded to reports of a collision in the area of Don Mills Road and Gateway Boulevard in the city’s North York neighbourhood just before 10:30 p.m.
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Police say two men got into an argument, leading to one man getting into his car and hitting the other man with it.
They say the man then put his car into reverse, striking a second man.
A man in his 50s was transported to hospital with serious injuries and the second man, in his 20s, had minor injuries.
Police say the suspect from Markham, Ont., faces several other charges as well, including two counts of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and dangerous driving.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
A court document shows a Lindsay, Ont., man facing charges for allegedly breaking into an apartment was carrying a crossbow when he was confronted by a tenant.
The resident, Jeremy David McDonald, is also facing assault charges in the incident on Aug. 18 — a fact that has generated widespread interest in the case.
Police information filed in court alleges that Michael Kyle Breen damaged a window and screen at McDonald’s home and carried a crossbow.
The court document says the 41-year-old Breen is charged with break and enter, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, mischief under $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.
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Police have said that Breen, who is scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing next week, was already wanted for unrelated offences.
McDonald, the 44-year-old resident, was charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon after he allegedly “did endanger the life” of Breen.
Premier Doug Ford blasted the decision to charge the apartment resident, saying last week that it shows “something is broken.”
Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Kirk Robertson wrote in a statement Wednesday that he recognizes the incident has generated significant public interest and “emotional” responses, but called some of the reaction “unjust and inaccurate.”
Robertson wrote that individuals have the right to defend themselves and their property, but the law requires that any defensive action be proportionate to the threat faced.
“This means that while homeowners do have the right to protect themselves and their property, the use of force must be reasonable given the circumstances,” he wrote.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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