ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Over the course of a long season there are moments that stick out from the blur of the grind, contests that especially elate or frustrate, periods that can make or break a team’s dreams.
The Toronto Blue Jays’ path to their first American League East championship since 1993 multiple examples on both ends of the spectrum, from the myriad of bullpen meltdowns in April and May to some costly defensive miscues in June and July to the two 11-game win streaks that reset the campaign.
Sportsnet polled a handful of Blue Jays for games or moments they felt really mattered.
June 2: Blue Jays 7, Nationals 3
After dropping the first game of a day-night doubleheader 2-0 and falling a season-high seven games below .500 at 23-30, the Blue Jays appeared to be in tough facing Max Scherzer in the nightcap. But trailing 3-1 in the sixth, Kevin Pillar ripped his second homer of the game off the Nationals ace, a three-run drive that put the Blue Jays ahead, and three add-on runs in the seventh sealed the deal.
They proceeded to win the next 10 games.
“We were on the ropes, seven games under .500 at the time, against a guy who has thrown two no-hitters this year and Pillar took him deep twice,” says manager John Gibbons. “That started the win streak, we climbed back over .500, that’s the one that jumps out at me. We really could have disappeared but we regrouped against maybe the top pitcher in the game, after getting beat by Jordan Zimmermann.”
First base coach Tim Leiper concurred.
“I remember feeling like absolute garbage after that first game, we were in a bad spot, and then Pillar hit the two home runs of Max Scherzer – I just thought that was a big game because that day could really have turned out to be lousy,” he says. “It didn’t seem like it was going to carry on to much, but it did. There was a definitive low point after that first game in Washington, and then having to sit around and wait for that second one. To me, that was a huge turning point for us.”
June 12: Blue Jays 13, Red Sox 10
Clobbered for eight runs in 2.1 innings, Drew Hutchison buried the Blue Jays early that night at Fenway Park and the end of what was at the time an eight-game win streak appeared nigh. But they slowly chipped away at an 8-1 hole by scoring three in the fifth and then exploding for nine in the seventh, capped by Russell Martin’s three-run triple and Justin Smoak’s two-run double, extending the win streak en route to a sweep.
“That was the most memorable win,” says Pillar. “I think that’s where this offensive unit realized how good we really are, that there’s no deficit we can’t overcome. On the flip side, I think our pitchers realized it’s OK to give up some runs, as long as it’s within reach to give our offence a chance to come back. I think that was a big turning point for us.”
July 30: Blue Jays acquire David Price from Tigers
For weeks the Blue Jays had been pushing hard for starting pitching help and everyone believed they were sure to add a pitcher, even after landing shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. But getting David Price was hard to fathom. Still, when the Tigers decided to trade him, GM Alex Anthopoulos pounced immediately, sending Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd and Jairo Labourt to Detroit for the ace left-hander they so desperately needed.
“That was my favourite moment, because I knew that we were going to have a good shot at doing something special,” says R.A. Dickey. “The Tulo trade was great, we had to be playing well up until David, but when we got David, that was a big moment.”
July 30-Aug. 2: Blue Jays take three of four from Royals
The first 11-game win streak was nice but the Blue Jays were just 51-51 when the Royals arrived at Rogers Centre for a four-game set just as the trade deadline was passing. Kansas City had already loaded up by adding Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist to a club rolling like a juggernaut but ran into a buzzsaw.
The Blue Jays controlled things start to finish in winning the opener 5-2, rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 6-3 before winning on Josh Donaldson’s 11th-inning walk-off single in the second, blew a late lead in the third game before winning the emotional finale 5-2, when Edinson Volquez is believed to have thrown at Donaldson and the benches later cleared.
Another 11-game win streak followed.
“The Kansas City series was big for us,” says Tulowitzki. “At the time we were in the mix but hadn’t established ourselves yet, and that sent a message across baseball and definitely to them that we had a good team.”
Dickey agreed.
“The Kansas City series I thought was a real defining moment for us,” says Dickey. “We beat them three out of four, we should have swept them, they’re a really good team, and they had that swagger going, that whole series was good foreshadowing, for someone who appreciates story, I felt like it was going to be pretty good foreshadowing of what was to come later on. It was special because I felt like it really galvanized us.”
Aug. 7-9: Sweeping New York at Yankee Stadium
After seizing control of a wild-card spot with a four-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins, the Blue Jays headed to the Bronx 4.5 games back of the American East leaders, hoping to shave a game off the deficit by winning the series. Instead, they completely suffocated the Yankees, allowing just one run over 27 innings while pulling within a game and a half. Two days later, top spot was theirs, although they wouldn’t take control of the division for good until Aug. 23.
Sept. 11-13 and 21-23: Taking three of four from Yankees on road and two of three at home
The Blue Jays led the AL East by 1.5 games when they opened a four-game set at Yankee Stadium with the potential to swing the division either way. Behind Price, they took the opener in a rout, and then after a rain out, swept a gruelling doubleheader Saturday that included a gripping 9-5, 11-inning victory in the opener and the return of Marcus Stroman in a 10-7 triumph in the nightcap. They dropped the finale but still left New York with a 3.5 game lead, and eight days later at home, took the opener behind another Price gem, dropped the next one 6-4 in 10 innings before claiming the finale 4-0 behind another strong Stroman outing and a pivotal Martin homer that allowed everyone to exhale.
“When you play a four-game series, the tension builds,” says bench coach DeMarlo Hale. “I just thought the way we played in that series, in the doubleheader, the media kind of hyped it a little bit, it was in September, and then the series back in Toronto, which was hyped again, we handled ourselves very well in the moment, competing.
“As simple as it is, it was inning-by-inning, there were a lot of ups and downs, back-and-forth, at-bat-by-at-bat, pitch-by-pitch in those four games. We competed. With the doubleheader, too, it was kind of all hands on deck, too. The hype was high, you go in there and see, did you get over-amped, are you too emotional? Those four games (in New York) made me feel good about this team.”
The Blue Jays won the season series between the teams 13-6, and finished six games ahead of the Yankees atop the AL East.
“Honestly, I think every game against the Yankees was important,” says Justin Smoak. “They were the team we were behind, and to be able to beat them as often as we did, that turned our whole season around right there.”