Pivotal stretch looming, Blue Jays ready to prove themselves

PHILADELPHIA -- As they prepared for their flight back to Toronto on Sunday evening, it was difficult to tell whether the Blue Jays had just won or lost.

Loud music echoed through a room filled with players both mentally and physically drained from yet another extra-innings affair, a sound typically reserved for a winning clubhouse. But even after falling to the Phillies in 12 innings Sunday, the Blue Jays were heading home with another series win and a winning record on their seven-game, three-city road trip, eager to continue their unlikely quest for a return to the postseason.

“There's nothing better than that, when you're getting into the dog days of August and down the stretch, there's nothing better than meaningful baseball,” manager John Schneider said after his team’s 7-6 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. “If we can have the mentality, the intensity and the cohesiveness, everyone doing their part, I'll take my chances with these guys. You never know when a team kind of finds itself and turns the corner a little bit.”

On July 24, the Blue Jays sat at 47-57, 10 games under .500 and 6 1/2 games out of a postseason spot -- with five other teams standing between them and the Guardians, who held that third and final Wild Card position.

Over the next 10 days, general manager Ross Atkins threaded the buy/sell needle leading up to the Trade Deadline, shipping off Kevin Gausman, Daulton Varsho (both impending free agents) and Jeff Hoffman (under control through 2027) while acquiring José Soriano, Josh Smith, Spencer Arrighetti and Jameson Taillon, the first three of whom are under club control for at least two more years.

“We purposely kept guys here that we thought could help us win and purposely acquired guys that we thought could help us win this year and going forward,” Schneider said. “It wasn't a straight sell at the Deadline. It's not like, ‘Hey, let's look forward to 2027.’ We’ve got some games to play here.”

“Everybody still believes, from our front office all the way to our locker room,” George Springer said. “We're one good stretch away from being right where we want to be.”

That stretch begins Monday, when the Blue Jays open a four-game set at Rogers Centre against the red-hot Red Sox, winners of 27 of their last 32 games. After that, it’s a three-game set against the Yankees, followed by a six-game road trip to St. Petersburg and the Bronx.

“This could be our season,” Ernie Clement said. “If we play really, really well, it's going to put us in a great position. We're just going to show up every day and try to take care of business.”

The Blue Jays are 7-4 in their last 11 games after taking two of three in Philly, cutting their Wild Card deficit down to 3 1/2 games. Yes, there are still five teams in between Toronto and that third spot, but the Blue Jays have at least three games remaining against every team in front of them other than the Twins, giving them an opportunity to take care of their own business.

“We're playing with a lot of energy and playing like we’ve got nothing to lose at this point,” Clement said. “That's a dangerous team, the one that plays with nothing to lose. We feel really good about how we've been playing. We can't really look at the standings -- just go out there and take it day by day.”

Following this upcoming two-week AL East gauntlet, the Blue Jays have three games left against the Mariners, Guardians, Tigers and Rangers, with six remaining against the Orioles. Throw in six against the Royals and three each against the Athletics and Reds, and that’s what the Blue Jays have standing between themselves and a potential playoff spot.

“Those are obviously some really good teams who are playing extremely well,” Springer said. “I think everybody understands the task at hand and everybody understands that it's going to take all of us to get to where we want to go. It’s not an easy road, but I like the way that we've been playing.”

Schneider believes some of his players who have battled inconsistency this season “are starting to be a little bit more like themselves,” giving him the belief that the Blue Jays are capable of putting together the seven-week run necessary to get to the playoffs.

“It's kind of what we envisioned from the get-go,” Schneider said. “We’ve got to keep this rolling the rest of the way.”