Sanchez, Guerrero lead Blue Jays past Rockies 5-1 to back solid Scherzer outing

Toronto Blue Jays' Jesus Sanchez (right) hits an RBI single as Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman (15) looks on during fifth inning MLB baseball action in Toronto on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

TORONTO — Jesus Sanchez had an RBI single in the fifth inning and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed up with a bases-loaded walk and the Toronto Blue Jays never looked back in a 5-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.

Kazuma Okamoto and Nathan Lukes each had an RBI single in the seventh for Toronto (4-1) before Ernie Clement tacked on another run with a double.

Max Scherzer (1-0) gave up a run on four hits and a walk, striking out four over six innings. Relievers Mason Fluharty, Braydon Fisher and Jeff Hoffman combined for three scoreless innings.

Hunter Goodman cut into the Blue Jays’ lead with a solo home run in the sixth for Colorado (1-4).

Ryan Feltner struck out four over three innings. Blue Jays shortstop Andres Gimenez’s comebacker went off of Feltner’s right hip and, although he faced two more batters, that ended his night with the Rockies saying he had a right glute contusion.

Juan Mejia (0-1), Jaden Hill, Brennan Bernardino, Zach Agnos followed Feltner to the mound. Mejia gave up the runs to Sanchez and Guerrero and Agnos allowed three more.

TAKEAWAYS

Rockies: A day after dominating Toronto in a 14-5 win, the Rockies looked average. Twice the Blue Jays loaded the bases but failed to clear them, leaving 11 runners stranded.

Blue Jays: Scherzer’s solid performance came hours after Toronto manager John Schneider confirmed that fellow starting pitcher Cody Ponce would miss “significant time” with a sprained ACL in his right knee. Ponce was injured in Monday night’s game, meaning Scherzer’s six innings gave the Blue Jays’ bullpen some badly needed rest.

KEY MOMENT

Guerrero’s bases loaded walk in the fifth could have led to more scoring, but Okamoto and Lukes struck out in quick succession to end the inning with Toronto only managing two runs.

KEY STAT

Sanchez, who was acquired in February in a trade with the Houston Astros, has a 1.255 on-base plus slugging percentage. His best-ever season was an .808 OPS with the Miami Marlins in 2021.

UP NEXT

Kevin Gausman (0-0) gets the start for Toronto in Wednesday’s series finale. Kyle Freeland (0-0) will take the mound for the Rockies in the matinee.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press