TORONTO -- Sometimes you hit three home runs and cruise to victory, other times you have to grind to give yourself a chance.
On Friday it was the former for the Blue Jays, and Saturday, it was the latter.
Toronto rallied from a three-run deficit to defeat the Mariners, 4-3, in the second game of a three-game series at Rogers Centre.
Seattle jumped out to a 3-0 lead after four innings before walks and a defensive miscue let the Blue Jays back into the game in the bottom of the fifth.
With one out, Mariners starter Kade Anderson allowed a single off the bat of Myles Straw and issued a free pass to Brett Bateman.
Reliever Eduard Bazardo then came on to strike out Alejandro Kirk, but followed it with walks of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer. What should’ve resulted in one run on the walk to Springer turned into two when ball four skipped away from catcher Cal Raleigh, allowing Bateman to scamper home from second.
The Blue Jays would score two more in the bottom of the sixth on singles from Bateman and Kirk to take a lead they would never relinquish.
Bateman admitted the play at the plate was closer than he anticipated, but he wanted to try to make something happen given the situation.
“I was rounding third and I looked up and Raleigh didn’t have the ball yet,” Bateman said postgame. “There’s two outs, just trying to be aggressive. It worked out. Live and die by being aggressive on the base paths. As soon as I touched third, my head was looking at home.”
Since his arrival in the big leagues on Aug. 7, Bateman has been the spark plug atop the lineup the Blue Jays have needed. After going 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk on Saturday, he’s now hitting .329 across 76 at bats.
On the mound, José Soriano recovered from a tough start to the game to throw seven innings. He surrendered three runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
The entire day got off to an emotional start as the Blue Jays honoured long-time player, manager and broadcaster Buck Martinez by enshrining him in the franchise’s new Hall of Excellence.
It created an atmosphere that players took notice of.
“It was great,” Bateman said about the energy in the stadium. “The ceremony was awesome. I’ve been here a month and I almost teared up. It just shows how strong the community and bond is. I want the building to be like that all the time, and they’ve done that. They give us that energy. It was a great team win.”
Manager John Schneider continues to be impressed with his young leadoff hitter and how comfortable he is with such little experience at the major league level.
“You don’t see that very often,” Schneider said of Bateman scoring from second. “He doesn’t take anything for granted. It’s what we’ve tried to grasp onto a little bit after the Trade Deadline with guys like him and trying to force the issue. I think that kind of re-energized everyone.”
With the Guardians losing on Saturday afternoon, the Blue Jays now sit 1.5 games back of the final American League Wild Card spot.
Schneider was happy with the way his team won two very different games from Friday to Saturday, but ultimately all that matters is coming away with a victory this time of year, he said.
“Every win is going to be important and every win can come in any way, shape or form,” Schneider said. “It starts on the mound, Soriano was really good. Every game is going to be different and good teams find ways to do it in different ways.”