Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jesús Sánchez isn't happy with himself after allowing two fly balls to drop in left field during Thursday's 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
The 28-year-old failed to make plays on fly balls in the first and fourth innings, with his miss in the fourth leading to a five-run rally for the Rays.
Jesús Sánchez missed a fly ball and handed the Rays two runs. Max Scherzer was LIVID. 😬pic.twitter.com/WUyzQL5o03
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 19, 2026
Sánchez said on Thursday that he lost sight of the ball over the Tropicana Field catwalk on the first-inning blunder, and in the fourth inning, he lost the ball in the lights.
"That's a ball I need to catch. … That's my ball. I need to catch it," he said, according to Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling.
Sánchez has played a career-high 260 1/3 innings in left field this season. However, he's recorded a minus-3 defensive runs saved at the spot and ranks 116th out of 121 qualified outfielders in outs above average, according to Baseball Savant.
"I know I need to improve on my defense. ... I know I'm going to get there. Next time, I'm going to be better."
The Blue Jays didn't put Sánchez in Thursday's starting lineup against the Rays, instead opting for a more defensively sound outfield with Myles Straw, Nathan Lukes, and Daz Cameron.
