Bateman proving to be 'a dude,' helps Blue Jays stay hot in win over Sox

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays just keep holding the line, suddenly playing a scrappy and stubborn brand of baseball.

Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the Red Sox at Rogers Centre wasn’t pretty, but we’re long past aesthetics here. The Blue Jays need wins any way they can find them, and with four in their last five games, this team is quietly building some momentum.

“We’ve been playing really well, even in Philly, just fighting hard and doing the extra things in games,” said Dylan Cease. “I think we’ve been playing very clean baseball.”

This is what mattered most:

1. Brett Bateman, you’re up

If you hit, you’re going to play. If you hit in big spots, get ready to be in that lineup 41 more times.

Brett Bateman is doing just that since coming over from the Cubs in the Kevin Gausman deal, so John Schneider keeps trusting him. With a single, double and two RBIs Tuesday, Bateman was one of the most important players on the field, and if he keeps contributing offensively while playing a solid center field, he may just stick near the top of the Blue Jays’ lineup, too.

“You never know when you’re going to find a dude,” Schneider said. “Again, it’s a handful of games, but he has the potential with both his skills and the way he thinks, the way he can adjust, to be pretty damn good.”

The outfield is wide open in 2027, too, especially in center. This is officially an audition, and Bateman is making a fine first impression.

“I like the zone control, I like the contact ability and I like what’s going on between his ears,” Schneider said.

2. For the first time in a long time, Cease had to grind

By now, we’ve learned not to worry about velocity dips with Cease. We went through this same learning curve with Gausman, who would have dips that even he couldn’t explain, but still find a way out of it. Cease’s numbers were down about 2 mph across the board Tuesday night, and while there’s no need to worry about any health issues, it still isn’t ideal.

This led to long innings, something Cease has done very well to avoid lately. The fourth inning dragged on and on, demanding 31 pitches out of Cease, and the very first pitch of the next frame was sent over the wall in dead center by Ceddanne Rafaela.

Cease hadn’t fallen short of six innings since June 27, and in the six starts he’d made since then, he was averaging just over seven innings per appearance. That’s the sweet spot and a truly rare combination, pairing his elite swing-and-miss stuff with an ability to work deep into games.

“I gave us a shot. It’s frustrating to not bring your best, but ultimately, they picked me up and we won,” Cease said. “I feel pretty good, honestly.”

This all carries weight in the Cy Young race, too. Because he missed a couple of weeks with the left hamstring injury he suffered in late May, Cease’s innings total (131 1/3) still trails that of Cam Schlittler, who leads the AL with 146 2/3. Cease’s strikeout numbers are overwhelming, but in this very tight race, Schlittler can make the case of owning a lower ERA (2.21 to Cease’s 2.40) over more innings.

3. The postseason? ‘It’s still realistic’

What’s done is done. The Blue Jays have left themselves a steep hill to climb, but there’s no changing that now. All they can do is win each series and slowly reel teams in over the next month, so this is another good start.

This is the stretch where it needs to happen, too. After this four-game series against the Red Sox, they host the Yankees, then hit the road to face the Rays and Yankees again next week. There’s no time to just “survive” a brutal schedule, they need to win.

“We know who we’re playing, we know how we have to play and I like the way we’re playing right now,” Schneider said. “I wish we were scoring a bit more to give the bullpen a break, but these guys are playing their [butts] off right now. It’s still realistic. I still think we’re a good team. We haven’t done as well as we would have hoped, but we’ve got time to do that.”

The time’s running out, but it hasn’t hit zero. If the Blue Jays can keep scraping together nights like this, they’ll keep outrunning it.