Jeff Hoffman was back to closing down the opposition after a hiccup of sorts earlier this week.
Jeff “TORONTO BLUE JAY” Hoffman 😤 pic.twitter.com/1wcy3lhssF
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 13, 2025
Hoffman picked up his 25th save of the season in Wednesday’s 9-8 win by the Toronto Blue Jays over the Baltimore Orioles. He pitched the ninth inning and struck out one batter without allowing a hit or walk to close things out. He dropped his ERA to 4.76 with the save.
One of the teams he loves to hate is the Orioles, even blowing a kiss to their dugout after a save earlier this season. Baltimore and Atlanta had reservations about signing the free agent reliever, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies last season.
Hoffman picked up the loss on Tuesday. He gave up a run on two hits with a strikeout. However, there were no issues on Wednesday as he easily closed out the afternoon game.
The Blue Jays are leading the American League East standings and picked up starting pitcher Shane Bieber from the Cleveland Indians on Thursday. Hoffman has had more ups than downs but has struggled at times. With him solid in the closer role, that can only help Toronto’s chances.
Carter Cunningham
⚓️ CAPTAIN CARTER STRIKES AGAIN 🚀
Carter Cunningham (@cartercunnin) launches his 3rd homer in his last 5 games for the @vancanadians — and his 12th of the season! 💣#BlueJays #LightsUpLetsGo pic.twitter.com/xQA3FMV7ex
— Blue Jays Player Development (@JaysPlayerDev) July 31, 2025
His big night at the plate helped Vancouver pick up a win over Tri-City in High-A baseball action.
He was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI in 10-5 win. He hit his 12th home run of the season in the seventh inning and drove in his 36th RBIs of the season.
He also singled in the fourth and walked in the fifth.
See below to find out what the rest of the Pirates in baseball did on Wednesday.
Major League Baseball
- Connor Norby, Miami Marlins: On Injured List with wrist injury. Had surgery and will be out 6-8 weeks.
- Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals: 1-for-3 with a walk in 2-0 loss to Marlins
- Shawn Armstrong, Texas Rangers: Picked up his second hold of the week and ninth of the season in a 6-3 win over the Angels. Struck out one of the two batters he faced.
- Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians: Did not pitch in 5-0 win over Rockies
- Jeff Hoffman, Toronto Blue Jays: See above
- Clayton McCullough, Miami Marlins (manager): Team won, 2-0, to improve to 52-55 on the season.
- Zach Agnos, Colorado Rockies: On 15-day injured list with right flexor strain
- Carson Whisenhunt, San Francisco Giants: Did not pitch in 2-1 loss to Pirates
Double-A
- Trey Yesavage, New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays): Did not pitch in 7-5 loss to Chesapeake.
- 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): See above
- Josh Moylan, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees): Was 2-for-4 and made a nice defensive catch on a popup around first base in a 4-3 win over Wilmington.
- Josh Grosz, Spokane Indians (Rockies): Did not pitch in 3-2 win over Hlllsboro. Is expected to pitch for the first time with Spokane this evening at 9:35 ET.
- Tyler Bradt, Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals): Rained out vs. Beloit. Will play doubleheader today.
- Jacob-Jenkins-Cowart, Beloit Sky Carp (Marlins): Rained out vs. Peoria. Will play doubleheader today
- Ryan McCrystal, Dayton Dragons (Reds): Did not play in 6-3 loss to West Michigan
- Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman, Modesto Nuts (Mariners): Placed on full-season disabled list on April 15.
- Erik Ritchie, Clearwater Threshers (Phillies): Did not pitch in 12-5 win over Tampa
- Landon Ginn, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs): Pitched last inning of 4-3 loss to Charleston. Struck out one batter.
Rookie League
- Dixon Williams (Braves): According to Carlos Collazo of Baseball America, signed his draft contract with the Atlanta Braves, worth $497,500. The former ECU baseball star will now report to the Braves’ Florida Coast League team.
- Ethan Young (Cardinals): Was a fifth-round pick and signed to a $630,000 deal. The slot value for the 150th pick is $470,100, according to Baseball America writer Carlos Collazo.
Frontier League
- Danny Beal, Down East Bird Dawgs (Independent): Did not pitch in 5-1 loss to Brockton
Photo credit: Jeff Hoffman (Toronto Blue Jays photo)
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