The Toronto Blue Jays were attempting to keep their winning streak alive without Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the lineup Friday. It took extra innings and a throwing error by the Los Angeles Angels but the Blue Jays got the 4-3 victory and a sixth straight win.
During Toronto’s incredible hot streak, which has landed the team in first place in the AL East, the Blue Jays have found different ways to win. They can beat you with power, evidenced by George Springer’s multi-homer eruption against the New York Yankees. But when the deep ball eludes them, they can win playing small ball, as they did against the Angels.
Manager John Schneider believes the team’s improved baserunning helped spark the stunning turnaround.
“We were the worst baserunning team in the league in April, and we turned ourselves into the third overall baserunning team in June. And first on advancing on hits, which is something that we talked to the guys about, something that we definitely track and something that we’re really proud of,” Schneider said, per Sportsnet 590 The Fan on X.
The Blue Jays have dominated the basepaths during hot steak
“It starts with effort and anticipation. Taking an extra base, tagging up on a deep fly ball… All those little things add up and I think the guys are noticing that,” he added.
The Blue Jays started heating up in June and they’ve stayed hot in July. The team has now won nine of its last 10 games and gone 19-9 over the last month. During that stretch, Toronto erased a 6.5-game deficit in the division, eventually overtaking the Yankees with a four-game sweep. With the win over LA, the Blue Jays now lead the AL East by two games.
“It’s been a collective effort, it’s been a lot of discussion with a lot of us over the past month. And guys have bought into it, the guys have seen that taking chances is OK. It comes with getting thrown out every now and then but every little detail matters,” Schneider explained.
“You never really know which run is going to be the most important and viewing our team as a whole, I think that’s what’s allowed us to be playing the way we’ve been playing the last few weeks,” he noted.
The Blue Jays will send veteran ace Max Scherzer to the mound Saturday as the team looks to run the win streak up to seven straight games. Scherzer made his return to the rotation at the end of June after a lengthy injury absence.
