TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays were left to reflect on missed opportunities after dropping a close series to the Cleveland Guardians, despite solid pitching and early leads.

Manager John Schneider expressed confidence in the team’s offence, even as they stranded 25 runners over the three-game set — including nine in each of the two losses. After taking the opener 5-3, Toronto fell short in back-to-back one-run games, losing 5-3 on Saturday and 5-4 on Sunday.

Clutch hitting proved elusive. On Saturday, after building a 3-0 lead, the Blue Jays’ final 12 batters were retired in order by Cleveland’s bullpen. Sunday saw further heartbreak as the Jays left runners on third in both the eighth and ninth innings. With a chance to tie or take the lead late, key pop-ups by Myles Straw and Nathan Lukes killed a promising rally.

“We’re trying to scrap across a run there,” Schneider said. “You get a good bunt from Ern (Ernie Clement) and just couldn’t cash in.”

Early aggressiveness also backfired. In the first inning Sunday, Bo Bichette’s leadoff double and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s single put runners at the corners, but a double play and a rundown ended the threat.

“It’s a weird play,” Schneider noted. “We’re trying to score early — sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”