Pirates in baseball: Hoffman, Blue Jays stay hot with another save, eighth straight win

by | Jul 7, 2025

The Toronto Blue Jays are one of the hottest teams in the majors right now. So is East Carolina alum and Jays relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman.

The Blue Jays swept their second straight series and won their eighth straight with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Overall, the Jays have won 10 of their last 11 and 11 of their last 13 since a 4-2 loss at home to the Chicago White Sox on June 22.

The Blue Jays and White Sox start a new series on Monday in Chicago.

Jeff Hoffman got his 22nd save of the season. He struck out one and had the game end when Addison Barger snagged a liner at third base.

In a post to X on Sunday, Shi Davidi, Sportsnet baseball columnist, posted “From a clubhouse-meshing standpoint,” Hoffman says, he sees similarities between his surging Blue Jays and his former team, the Phillies. “It’s the same type of feels every single day, showing up expecting to win, having fun while doing it.”

After a rocky stretch at the end of May and early June, Hoffman has returned to the closer form we saw with the Phillies. In June, he was 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 12 gaves with six saves, 13 strikeouts, three walks and two earned runs given up on six hits.

He’s lowered his season ERA to 4.46 with three saves this week while giving up two hits and striking out two in three innings.

Gavin Williams

The Cleveland Guardians pitcher had one of his best outings of the season on Sunday but had no win to show for it against the Detroit Tigers.

He pitched six innings, giving up a hit with three walks and eight strikeouts. He left in a scoreless tie then watched as Cleveland scored in the eighth and Detroit tied it in the ninth before scoring six runs in the 10th for a 7-2 win.

It was Cleveland’s 10th straight loss.

Williams has been solid over his past seven starts but doesn’t have much to show for it. He has a 1-1 record, 2.72 ERA, and 30 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. Overall, he has a 5-4 record, 3.61 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and 90 strikeouts.

Zach Agnos

He got his first Major League Baseball win as the Colorado Rockies beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-4, on Sunday.

Agnos relieved starter and fellow rookie Chase Dollander in the fourth inning. He pitched through the fifth, giving up a run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout to lower his ERA to 5.18. Colorado scored four times in the bottom of the fifth and held on.

See below to find out what the rest of the Pirates in baseball did on Sunday.

Major League Baseball

  • Connor Norby, Miami Marlins: 0-for-3 in 3-1 loss to Brewers
  • Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals: 0-for-4 in 11-0 loss to Cubs
  • Shawn Armstrong, Texas Rangers: Did not pitch in 4-1 loss to Padres
  • Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians: See above
  • Jeff Hoffman, Toronto Blue Jays: See above
  • Clayton McCullough, Miami Marlins (manager): Team lost 3-1 to Brewers to drop to 40-48
  • Zach Agnos, Colorado Rockies: See above

Triple-A

  • Carson Whisenhunt, Sacramento RiverCats (Giants): Did not pitch in 15-13 win over Reno

Double-A

  • Trey Yesavage, New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays): Read more about his Sunday here.
  • https://pr927fm.com/trey-yesavages-rise-to-majors-continues-with-spot-in-futures-game/
  • Carter Spivey, Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians): Placed on 7-day injured list with right shoulder strain on June 12.
  • Trey Benton, Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians): On season-ending disabled list

Single-A

  • Carter Cunningham, Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays): 2-for-4 with a run and RBI in 4-3 win over Everett. 
  • Josh Moylan, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees): 1-for-4 in 2-1 win over Brooklyn
  • Josh Grosz, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees): Did not pitch in 2-1 win over Brooklyn
  • Tyler Bradt, Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals): Pitched one inning in 5-3 loss to South Bend. Gave up a hit to lower his ERA to 2.97.
  • Jacob-Jenkins-Cowart, Beloit Sky Carp (Marlins): 0-for-2 in 1-0 loss to Wisconsin
  • Ryan McCrystal, Daytona Tortugas (Reds): 0-for-1 as pinch-hitter in 3-0 loss to St. Lucie
  • Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman, Modesto Nuts (Mariners): Placed on full-season disabled list on April 15.
  • Erik Ritchie, Clearwater Threshers (Phillies): Did not pitch in 14-9 win over Tampa
  • Landon Ginn, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs): Did not pitch in 7-1 loss to Charleston

Frontier League

Danny Beal, Down East Bird Dawgs (Independent): Did not pitch in 13-4 win over Trois-Rivieres

Photo credit: Jeff Hoffman (Toronto Blue Jays photo)

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