BALTIMORE -- When the Blue Jays embarked on what grew into an intense, at-times heated half-week at Camden Yards, they did so with one primary goal: to create separation in the American League Wild Card race.
Four games later, they departed the Charm City having accomplished just that.
Toronto created more space between Baltimore for that third Wild Card spot by virtue of Wednesday night’s 4-1 victory -- taking three of four from the Orioles to stretch a 2 1/2-game lead into a 4 1/2-game cushion over the course of three days.
The Blue Jays’ latest win also moved them within 1 1/2 games of Tampa Bay and within a half-game of Seattle.
“This is what we want,” said right-hander Alek Manoah, who padded his AL Cy Young case by holding Baltimore to three hits over eight innings of one-run ball. “This is what we work for. We want to be in big games and we want them to matter.”
Wednesday's series finale did come with some injury concern, as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. exited early with left hamstring discomfort that could sideline the everyday left fielder for at least the short-term. But otherwise, it was Toronto’s most clinical win of the week over its upstart division rivals, against whom a newfound rivalry is clearly forming.
Manoah simply dominated, holding the O’s to just one baserunner from the first inning on and retiring 22 of the last 23 batters he faced to shave his season ERA to 2.42 through 27 starts.
“A big performance that speaks for itself,” interim manager John Schneider said. “He has a really unique ability to take things in and use them as fuel, use it for a little bit of motivation. But he does it in the right way.”
The series win sets up Toronto well for the rest of the stretch run.
The Blue Jays still have 26 games left in the regular season -- 15 against direct AL Wild Card competition. A lot can happen in 26 games. But while taking three of four from Baltimore doesn’t yet bury the pesky O’s, it at least goes a way towards pushing them toward the periphery of the AL Wild Card picture.
Only six head-to-head matchups remain now between the teams: three in Toronto next weekend and three more in Baltimore to end the regular season. Wednesday’s win also inched Toronto closer in the season series (now 6-7 vs. Baltimore). It’s a small detail, but it’s vitally important in a year when head-to-head records determine postseason tiebreakers.
If Toronto and Baltimore finished tied for the final playoff spot, for example, the team with the better head-to-head record would advance. The other would go home.
“This is what we work our entire lives for, to be in a position to get on a playoff run. Now we just got to go do it,” Manoah said. “It just feels like right now all of the cylinders are starting to click together.”
The Blue Jays still have question marks in the back of the rotation, and Gurriel’s injury is unideal even with the outfield depth the team has added in recent weeks. But Toronto appears to be hitting its stride -- winning eight of 10, 15 of the last 21 and 12 of the last 14 road games.
The club is finally seeing the version of Bo Bichette it’s waited all year for. The Blue Jays are getting big performances from their frontline starters and big outs when they need them from one of the sport’s sneaky-good bullpens. In short, they are playing a complete brand of baseball precisely when it matters most.
Toronto is also playing a little irritated, and channeling that frustration into results. The Blue Jays weren’t thrilled how the Orioles surprised them with late changes to their pitching plans three times during this four-game set, including right before Game 2 of Monday’s doubleheader, when they learned O’s left-hander Keegan Akin would replace sick righty Jordan Lyles on short notice.
Rather than rattle or gripe, rather than scramble for last-minute matchup adjustments, the Blue Jays simply accepted the switch. They then went out with the same lineup and swept the twin bill handily. Then two nights later, still ticked at O’s reliever Bryan Baker for starting what they felt was an unnecessary on-field fracas, Toronto was intentional in making sure tensions did not again boil over. It simply went out and took care of business.
“It was a sticky situation and I think this team handled it perfectly,” Manoah said. “We didn’t let them get us out of our groove. Didn’t flinch. We let them talk their thing. We’re going to talk with the bats and with the gloves, and with the arm and with the ball. And that’s exactly what we did.”