Jhoan Duran blows his first save in Phillies' 3-2 walk-off loss to the Blue Jays

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jun 9, 2026

Published in Baseball

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TORONTO — For most of the season, when Jhoan Duran made the jog from the bullpen to the mound, the result of the game seemed like a foregone conclusion.

Duran had been perfect in his first 16 save opportunities entering Tuesday, but Toronto managed to end that streak, walking him off, 3-2, in the ninth inning.

The first two batters Duran faced singled on ground-ball hits that got through the infield. A wild pitch brought the tying run home, before Brandon Valenzuela hit an RBI single to end it.

Bryson Stott hit the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth against Louis Varland. The Blue Jays pitching staff confounded the Phillies’ offense for most of the game, as they struck out 15 total times. But, with two out in the ninth, Stott punched a double opposite-field to break the 1-1 stalemate.

The Phillies’ only other run came in the first inning, as they strung together doubles from Trea Turner and Brandon Marsh to take an early lead. The ball only left Turner’s bat at 64.4 mph, but he was aggressive against Toronto’s rookie right fielder Yohendrick Piñango and wound up on second. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored easily when Marsh laced a slider to right field.

After that, though, the Phillies couldn’t generate much against Toronto starter Dylan Cease. He only allowed one more hit — a single — and walked one while striking out 11. Cease generated 29 swings-and-misses from Phillies hitters, including 10 on his fastball.

Zack Wheeler gave up some hard contact early, but managed to escape a few jams. He allowed a leadoff single in the second inning, but immediately erased the runner with a double play. Kazuma Okamoto followed that up with a double and Wheeler then hit Andrés Giménez with a fastball to put two on. But he stranded both runners with a strikeout.

Toronto tied the game in the sixth. Wheeler’s four-seam to Jesús Sanchez didn’t get high enough above the zone, and Sánchez — who had also doubled in the third — sent it into the Phillies’ bullpen in right field for a solo shot.

Although Cease was cruising, since he was making his first start since being reinstated from the injured list, Toronto manager John Schneider lifted him after six innings and 93 pitches. Former Phillie Jeff Hoffman pitched a scoreless seventh and Mason Fluharty retired the side in order in the eighth, before Stott came through against Toronto closer Varland.

Orion Kerkering took over for Wheeler in the seventh and pitched a 1-2-3 inning. He returned for the eighth to face Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and induced a flyout. José Alvarado retired the next two batters.