John Schneider showed patience during Game 2 between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Arizona Diamondbacks, where Jeff Hoffman entered in a tie game but couldn’t contain the moment, as Corbin Carroll delivered a crushing blow at the plate. Still, the manager didn’t hesitate to back his closer.
Keegan Matheson shared Schneider’s comments on X: “John Schneider: ‘I know there may be people who don’t want to hear this, but I’ve got a lot of trust and confidence in Jeff Hoffman.’ ‘If there’s a situation to close out a game, I’ll take Jeff Hoffman.’”
Based on Schneider’s words, Hoffman should feel some level of reassurance, but his recent results haven’t been there. He allowed two earned runs against the Milwaukee Brewers and then four more against Arizona, pushing his ERA up to 7.71 on the season.
Scherzer backs Hoffman
Max Scherzer, who started the game and delivered a sharp outing with two earned runs over 6.0 innings, also made it clear the clubhouse still believes in Hoffman despite the rough moment following Carroll’s grand slam.
“We all believe in him. We all love him. We all believe he’s going to figure it out and get big outs for us. That’s never going to change,” Scherzer said after the game. The Blue Jays are now slipping deeper into a tough stretch, dropping their 12th game in 15 tries.
Hoffman, like Scherzer at times this season, has struggled on the mound. Among Toronto pitchers, only Dylan Cease (1.74 ERA through four starts) and Kevin Gausman (2.42 ERA) have delivered consistent results, but even that hasn’t been enough to translate into wins.
