None of that stopped the Blue Jays from finding enough offense anyway, a reminder that this roster has more than one gear even with its middle-of-the-order piece out of the lineup.
It stayed scoreless and tight into the middle innings before both sides traded runs late — Washington scratched one across in the 4th and another in the 8th, but Toronto answered with runs in the 6th, 7th and a 3-spot in the 8th to pull away. A Nationals error didn't help matters in a game that came down to which bullpen held up better down the stretch.
Washington had won 4 of its last 5 coming in, including a wild 10-7 slugfest against Arizona, and had taken Tuesday's game off Toronto by drawing 6 walks in a 4-run first against Shane Bieber. Toronto, by contrast, had been streaky — a series opener win Monday sandwiched between losses — and still sits well under .500 at 49-59 even after Wednesday's win.
Both rotations are dealing with real scars beyond this one start — Toronto is still missing Jose Berrios, Bowden Francis and Cody Ponce for the year, while Washington's bullpen is stretched thin with Brad Lord and PJ Poulin both on the 15-day IL. Guerrero should be good to go once the off day hits, but this series was a small reminder of how thin the margins get in the AL East race when a middle-of-the-order bat sits.