Blue Jays' first-inning run drought reaches historic proportions

TORONTO -- First impressions aren’t exactly the Blue Jays’ thing.

They haven’t scored a run in the first inning in 23 consecutive games, a franchise record that just keeps growing. To find the old record of 20 games, you have to go back to the first team in franchise history, the 1977 Blue Jays.

These 2024 Blue Jays are just the 10th team in the past decade to go this long without scoring in the first, a trend that continued in Saturday’s 8-1 loss to the Pirates at Rogers Centre.

Four of those teams of the past broke the streak in the 24th game, though, so Toronto is in danger of seeing its company at the table grow smaller and smaller. The Giants hold the longest first-inning scoreless streak of the past decade, going 29 games from late 2018 into early '19.

“It’s about every single person being on board with their plan and with their approach from pitch one,” manager John Schneider said. “If the first guy gets out, it’s on to the next guy. If he does, it’s on to the next guy. Hopefully that turns.”

Here's a look at the Blue Jays' first-inning numbers -- and where they rank in the Majors -- through 57 games this season:

Runs: 19 (28th)
Home runs: 4 (T-26th)
Average: .198 (27th)
OPS: .571 (28th)

You’d need a telescope to find any silver lining in these stats. Granted, the top of the Blue Jays’ lineup looks better than it did 23 games ago, now that Davis Schneider has dug in as the leadoff man and Danny Jansen is batting second more often. It’s surprising that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hasn’t driven in a run from the No. 3 spot, given how remarkably well he’s hit for average over this same 23-game stretch.

What makes sense: This is a small piece of a larger problem, which is why there’s nothing terribly surprising about the Blue Jays' streak. Even with a better stretch from the offense lately, Toronto ranks 25th in MLB in runs scored (226) this season. The Blue Jays were one of the worst first-inning offenses in 2023, too, so this problem isn’t even new. They scored just 64 runs in the first last season, ranking 29th in baseball, ahead of only the Mets.

What doesn’t make sense: The Blue Jays have only struck out 50 times in the first inning this season, the fourth-lowest number in the Majors. They’re putting the ball in play enough to have early success, but the results just haven’t been there.

What really doesn’t make sense: They lead MLB in second-inning runs with 41. There are six teams that haven’t even scored 20.

“That’s a little weird -- between the first and second,” Schneider said. “Whether it’s where we are in the lineup or things like that, it’s a bit weird. It’s nice to get on the board early. Today, it didn’t happen.”

A large part of this is luck and coincidence. It has to be -- especially with a sample size that feels large because it stretches across nearly four weeks, but isn’t as towering when you think of it as 23 innings. But where does the randomness end and a trend begin?

The drastic difference between the Blue Jays' first- and second-inning offense could suggest that they are making a good adjustment after seeing what the opposing pitchers offer in the first inning, but that their plan of attack entering the game isn’t setting them up as well.

Overthinking this would be a mistake, though. If this were the NFL, you could throw a deep pass on the first drive. If this were the NBA, you could jack up a deep three on your first possession. Baseball doesn’t work like that. The moment you try even harder to do something, it gets even harder to do.

“Every day is different. Every game is different and every at-bat is,” George Springer said earlier this week in Chicago. “When things don’t go your way, both individually and as a team, it can seem to spiral. Things can seem like a big jumbled mess, but I think guys have done a really good job of getting to the next day and trying to win the day, not really looking forward to what’s ahead or dwelling on the past. Guys have been -- especially the last month -- doing a better job of playing the day out.”

This isn’t the type of record the Blue Jays want to keep building, and if they want to keep some recent momentum alive to get this season back on track, a good first impression will go a long way.