Straw, Miles add to Canada Day celebrations in dominant Blue Jays win

TORONTO -- With a packed house and massive audience watching from home on the Canada Day holiday, the Blue Jays finally treated everyone to a stress-free day of baseball.

There haven’t been many of these, but if the Blue Jays are going to dig themselves out of this 41-46 record to take a run at an AL Wild Card spot, Wednesday’s 9-3 win over the Mets held plenty of answers.

This is what mattered most from the win:

1. Sean Keys launched his first MLB home run

The biggest key? Sean Keys.

The Blue Jays’ No. 14 prospect per MLB Pipeline launched a three-run shot in the third inning, finally giving the Blue Jays some of the breathing room they’ve been searching for all season.

Every decision that followed came so much easier, too, allowing the Blue Jays to turn to Patrick Corbin out of the bullpen just one day after he was removed from the rotation. Given the five-run cushion, the Blue Jays allowed Corbin to run with it after Spencer Miles pitched the second, third and fourth frames, which saved an exhausted bullpen.

“That was great, man,” manager John Schneider said. “He’s seen some tough pitching this series, both starters and relievers. He stayed on that fastball. I think he knew he got it even more so than us, based on his reaction. He’s been doing that. Big swing for us, big swing for him.”

Power can make all of your problems go away, and the Blue Jays kept it going later in the game when Myles Straw launched a three-run shot of his own to put the game completely out of reach.

2. Spencer Miles was touching 99 mph

Some of the sinkers thrown by Miles on Wednesday were unfair.

It’s one thing to be sitting at 98 mph and touching 99 with your four-seamer, but to do that with sinker movement (tailing left to right) while spotting it wherever you want? Good luck to all who face him.

“I don’t know if it was Canada Day, the red jerseys or what it was,” Schneider joked. “He seemed like a different guy today. It was impressive, both the stuff and his execution of it. I’m kind of running out of things to say about him.”

Miles gave the Blue Jays three scoreless innings, striking out five Mets while allowing just one hit and a walk. Even as one of the breakout stars of 2026 and the surprise of the season as a Rule 5 Draft pick with barely any pro experience, this is the best we’ve seen Miles look in a Blue Jays uniform.

There’s not really a blueprint for what the Blue Jays are doing here, given Miles’ bizarre combination of so little experience for his age, but so much talent. Injuries limited the 25-year-old to just 14 1/3 innings in the Minor Leagues, but that’s old news now. Miles is a big leaguer and one of the most important pitchers on this staff, so the Blue Jays need to maximize that.

By Spring Training next season, we could very well be having a conversation about Miles joining the Blue Jays’ rotation. For now, the sweet spot seems to be this role, bouncing between outings of two or three innings. It’s still early, but Miles looks like one of the best pieces of talent evaluation we’ve ever seen from this front office.

3. Back to the scene of the 2025 ALCS

Last October, the Blue Jays arrived in Seattle down 2-0 to the Mariners in the ALCS. All they wanted to do was get the series back to Toronto, where George Springer eventually delivered one of the biggest moments in Blue Jays history with his Game 7.

Looking to spark a season that’s felt flat, Schneider thinks a trip back to T-Mobile Park could bring some energy back into this ball club, especially with the waves of Blue Jays fans coming down from the west coast of Canada.

“I think it will be good for us,” Schneider said. “It brings you back to that heightened sense of awareness and competitiveness. It brings you back to a really, really emotional time last year. I think it will be good to be back there. They’re a damn good team. We like playing there and we enjoy the atmosphere there. I think it will be good for the guys, honestly.”