Hoffman Meltdown and Quiet Bats, Jays Lose 6-2
Apr 18, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll (7) steals secondbase under the tag by Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Andrés Giménez (0) in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images This one will go on Jeff Hoffman, but realistically you also can’t score seven runs in four games and expect anything good to happen. The team is a mess on all fronts right now, from pitching to hitting to defence and base running.
One in the loss column is all that’s keeping them above Kansas City and the Mets for the worst record in baseball. A couple of positive notes, because I’m tired of wallowing: Max Scherzer looked strong in his return to his first major league team. I had actually forgotten that was where he came up, but then the Bush administration was a long time ago.
Anyways, I don’t expect his plaque in Cooperstown will have an A on it. As regards that eventual plaque, Scherzer’s one strikeout tonight left him one shy of 3,500 for his career and 10 behind Walter Johnson for a spot in the top 10 all time. Of course, Johnson took 2,940 more innings to put together his total.
Seeing him reach those milestones in the next couple of weeks will be something fun in a rough start to the season. Nathan Lukes had three hits. His awful start has apparently been the result of issues with vertigo.
I’ve known people struggling with unexplained vertigo, and it’s an awful thing to go through. He’s apparently found medication that’s helping with the issue, and certainly looks better the last couple of games. I really hope the issue is solved for him, for reasons beyond baseball.
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