Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jose Cuas made history Wednesday night. Although it’s the kind of historic moment he’d rather be forgotten. Facing the Houston Astros, Cuas took the mound in a 3-2 game in the seventh hoping to get out of the inning with the Blue Jays only down a run. The righty reliever was not up to the task, however and his ignominious outing ended after just three pitches.
With those three pitches, Cuas hit two batters and became the first pitcher since 1901 to accomplish that feat in a single appearance, per Sportsnet Stats.
Cuas faced four batters in the seventh inning but failed to record a single out. He issued an intentional walk to the whitehot Yordan Alvarez – who has homered in three straight games – to load the bases. He then gave up a two-run single to Yainer Diaz on his first pitch. Cuas then plunked Jake Meyers with his next pitch and followed that up by hitting Jeremy Pena on the very next pitch he threw.
In all, three runs scored on the three pitches thrown by Cuas in his brief but disastrous time on the mound. However, he’s only credited with one earned run having inherited two runners from losing pitcher Zach Pop. The meltdown kicked off an Astros rally that ultimately ended in a blowout 9-2 defeat for the Blue Jays.
Jose Cuas needed just three pitches to make embarrassing MLB history
It’s been a trying season for the 30-year-old reliever. Cuas struggled with the Chicago Cubs and was designated for assignment on June 16. The Blue Jays claimed him off waivers hoping to bolster their bullpen, but things have gotten even worse in his short time with Toronto.
With the Cubs, Cuas produced an ERA of 7.43 in 13.1 innings. Since joining the Blue Jays he’s posted a 13.50 ERA in two innings of work over three appearances, causing his overall ERA to balloon up to 8.22 in 15.1 innings pitched on the season.
Cuas was called up from Triple-A Buffalo to join the Blue Jays at the end of June. He’s sporting a 1.696 WHIP, -0.5 WAR and a putrid ERA+ of 53 with Toronto – way down from a solid 113 ERA+ in 2023 when he split time between the Kansas City Royals and the Cubs.
Like Cuas, the Blue Jays have struggled mightily this season. The team has lost 12 of the last 16 games, falling eight games below .500 and 16 games out of first place in the AL East. The skid has dropped Toronto 8.5 games out of the Wild Card race, all but eliminating them from postseason play.
The Blue Jays have the eighth highest payroll in baseball at just under $224 million and will face some difficult decisions at the MLB trade deadline. There’s been talk of the team moving some of its big name players at the deadline, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette – both once thought to be untouchable building blocks.
Toronto’s brass are considering their options as the team continues losing games and sliding further and further out of contention.
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