Blue Jays rookie Spencer Miles missteps in start against White Sox

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Spencer Miles (62) is taken out of the game against the Chicago White Sox during fifth inning MLB baseball action in Toronto on Friday, July 17, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jon Blacker

TORONTO — Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider said in a pre-game interview that Spencer Miles had been one of the team’s best pitchers so far this season.

Unfortunately, Miles then turned in one of his worst performances of the year.

Miles coughed up six runs on six hits over four innings, taking the loss as Toronto fell to the Chicago White Sox 12-4 on Friday. It was his worst outing since May 31 when he gave up six runs over three innings in a 9-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

“It’s tough. It’s a tough pill to swallow,” said Miles after the game. “But just gotta keep making your pitches and hopefully things fall a different way next time.”

Miles had looked solid in the first inning, striking out two, but then things came apart in the second when Chicago racked up five runs. Kyle Teel’s one-run double, Braden Montgomery’s fielder’s choice and Chase Meidroth’s RBI single gave the White Sox a 3-0 lead and set the stage for Sam Antonacci’s two-run homer.

Teel’s double was a looper that went over the head of Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto and down the left-field line and Meidroth’s hit found a small gap up the middle.

“A lot of it’s bad luck, obviously, and then I give up the two-run homer on a 3-1 count, threw another four-seamer there,” said Miles. “I don’t know. It’s hard. Just hope for the best and keep throwing strikes.

“I got ahead well tonight. A bunch of strike ones, got a bunch of people to two strikes, I’ve just got to make a couple better put-away pitches.”

Miles (4-2) saw his earned-run average go from 2.85 to 3.52 in the loss, his 27 appearance this season. He’s been a relief pitcher for most of the season, but has been occasionally deployed as a so-called opener on bullpen days and even had a few proper starts.

Schneider intended to have Miles pitch three, four or even five innings on Friday as Miles had six days of rest thanks to Major League Baseball’s all-star break and because it allowed the rest of Toronto’s rotation to either keep their usual schedule or get some extra rest.

Although he was disappointed in the result, Schneider said Miles will just need some small adjustments before his next game.

“He’s done a really good job of getting ahead in counts or flipping count leverage when it’s 1-1 or getting back into counts at 2-1, so I think that was the difference,” said Schneider post-game. “He’s going to pitch with his fastball and pitch off of that.

“Today he was just missing armside.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press