TORONTO – Day after day, this Toronto Blue Jays winning streak seems to be on the verge of ending. Yet every time they come close to losing, they find their way back — often in improbable fashion.
On Wednesday, they gave up an eight-run lead only to rally for an 11-9 win. On Thursday, with the bullpen depleted, Chris Bassitt gutted through 113 pitches and the Blue Jays won again. On Friday, it was a walk-off sacrifice bunt in the tenth inning.
Then, on Saturday, the game went into extra innings once again. With two out and the bases loaded in the 11th, Addison Barger lined a ball through the right side to score Myles Straw from third and give the Blue Jays yet another dramatic win.
Their seventh win in a row was also their seventh walk-off win of the season, and it extends their AL East lead to 3.0 games over the Yankees and Rays, who both lost. Despite an abbreviated start from Max Scherzer, and a bullpen still running on fumes, the Blue Jays got great relief pitching to set up their 51st win of the season.
“It’s everybody,” Scherzer said. “That's how we feel in the clubhouse. We keep talking about how it's everybody. It's somebody new (every day), and we're playing great team ball. It's amazing to watch. It's amazing to be in the dugout. We believe in absolutely everybody on this roster (and) everybody on this roster is getting a chance to shine.”
Jeff Hoffman, Yariel Rodriguez, Brendon Little and Chad Green were all unavailable, and Yimi Garcia was placed on the injured list after injuring his ankle stepping into a hot/cold tub, yet the Blue Jays still managed a win.
"Our depth is really good," manager John Schneider said. "It's a really fulfilling feeling for me, for the (coaching) staff and, I'm sure, for the guys."
As this hot streak has continued, players have talked openly about how much fun it is – and how they’re playing for one another, rather than individual stat lines. As the Blue Jays mobbed Barger near second base Saturday, yet another celebration ensued.
“Unbelievable,” said reliever Braydon Fisher, the winning pitcher. “It's been so much fun. The crowds are showing up, too. Fans are being loud. It’s just been a lot of fun. Everyone's doing their part, and then someone doesn’t, we pick them right up. It's great.”
The Blue Jays took an early 3-2 lead thanks to yet another home run from George Springer — his fifth in the last five games. His 16th of the year cleared the centre field wall to bring home Nathan Lukes, who led off with Andres Gimenez on the bench due to a sore left ankle.
Any reasonable expectation of Springer would have accounted for decline in 2025, his age-35 season and the fifth of six on his $150 million deal with the Blue Jays. But remarkably, Springer’s now enjoying his best Blue Jays season yet, with an OPS+ of 145 entering play Saturday.
Scherzer still managed to cover four innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out four. He topped out at 95 m.p.h. with his fastball, averaging 93.8 m.p.h., but never seemed to have his typical plus command.
The three-time Cy Young winner hit the first batter of the game with a pitch and would later walk three, including one with the bases loaded. Afterwards, he explained that he had been dealing with “a lot of (thumb) inflammation” between starts, limiting his ability to lift weights and throw the way he normally would. But he felt he could still give the Blue Jays four innings, exiting after 72 pitches this time.
"Another step in the right direction," Scherzer said. "Next time out, I'm going to get some rest here, so hopefully that'll really benefit me (as I) try to get back to a normal pitch count."
As of now, Scherzer’s next start would come six days from now against the Athletics in Sacramento on an extra day of rest — a meaningful difference in his view. Following that, he’ll have at least a week off during the all-star break, allowing for further rest before the second half resumes.
Once Scherzer left the game, the Blue Jays turned the ball over to Nick Sandlin, who pitched a scoreless fifth, and the recently promoted Lazaro Estrada, who excelled in his major-league debut.
Pitching for the first time in a week and making his first relief appearance since 2023, Estrada gave the Blue Jays four innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one earned run on two hits. The 26-year-old Cuban struck out four Angels, including Jorge Soler, for his first major-league strikeout.
“It’s a dream come true,” Estrada said through interpreter Hector Lebron. “I’m very happy right now.”
“I was really, really impressed,” Schneider added.
After Estrada left the game, Fisher pitched for the fourth time in six days, providing the Blue Jays with two scoreless innings despite starting each frame with an automatic runner on second base.
On Sunday, Kevin Gausman will face Tyler Anderson as the Blue Jays look for their second sweep of the week. To hear Scherzer describe it, the Blue Jays are optimistic — but reminding themselves to stay focused and stick to their process instead of losing sight of what got them here.
“If you get caught up in the results and you ride the roller coaster and you jump on the highs, well, then you jump on the lows,” he said. “We're smart enough to realize you've got to be careful of how much you let the results dictate how you feel.”
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