BOSTON -- With a sweep of the Red Sox, the Blue Jays looked like the better team for all 27 innings this week at Fenway Park and have themselves back within one game of .500.
Even after some late turbulence Thursday, Brandon Valenzuela saved the Blue Jays in the top of the ninth with an RBI double after the Red Sox fought back to tie things late with back-to-back home runs.
“That’s an incredible at-bat,” manager John Schneider said. “A crazy win, tough from both teams. Against a pitcher like [Aroldis Chapman], who’s not only had the career but the year he’s having? Valenzuela flipping around right-handed, that’s tremendous, tremendous composure.”
This is what mattered most from the 4-3 win.
1. Vladdy leads the sweep
A three-game sweep of the Red Sox with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s first home run in a month as the exclamation point? That’s a perfect series for the Blue Jays in Boston.
Everything about the Blue Jays makes more sense when Guerrero is playing like himself. When that happens, the hitters behind Guerrero can ease back into their own identities, which is what made this team special a year ago. No one has to do too much; no one has to “make up for” the lack of offense produced by the star of the show.
The rest of the pieces already feel like they’re in place, too, just waiting for breakouts from Guerrero and George Springer atop the lineup. The Blue Jays’ clubhouse hasn’t wavered, either, just as cohesive as it was at this time last year.
“I love who we have in our clubhouse. I love our squad. I believe in these guys,” Ernie Clement said recently on TSN 1050’s OverDrive. “We’ve got [Alejandro] Kirk back, and he’s already made a huge difference since being back. I love where we’re at. We’re a game or two out of the Wild Card, which is wild in itself. It’s anybody’s ball game in the American League.”
2. Big bounceback from Yesavage
Coming into Thursday’s win, this is what Trey Yesavage’s season had looked like:
First 5 starts: 1.07 ERA with 8 walks over 25 1/3 innings
Last 4 starts: 6.85 ERA with 17 walks over 22 1/3 innings
This is the game of adjustments that any young pitcher has to face. Given all of the attention on Yesavage during last year’s World Series run, it’s probably crashing down on him quicker than most pitchers as teams work to adjust for his unique arm angle and incredible splitter.
“Last year was kind of just like, ‘Do your thing,’” John Schneider said. “We were trusting a bit of the unknown with him and his stuff against certain teams. He’s kind of learning how to be a big leaguer.”
Well, Thursday looked like a big step forward, at least until those back-to-back homers in the eighth. Yesavage gave the Blue Jays 7 1/3 innings of three-run ball, a performance that looked much better than the line for most of the afternoon.
“I didn’t really change anything. I’m still the same pitcher; it’s just the confidence level,” Yesavage said. “I know my stuff plays. Throw it in the zone and let them hit it.”
3. A rare day off
No Louis Varland? No Braydon Fisher? No Tyler Rogers? This barely felt like a Blue Jays game. Only Mason Fluharty and Tommy Nance were needed after Yesavage, with Fluharty picking up his first save of the season.
Finally, the hardest-working group of relievers in baseball got a breather. This was desperately needed, especially since a close game could have forced Schneider to consider using some relievers three days in a row.
“Generally, I want to avoid it,” Schneider said. “I would say we’re getting to the point that, for certain guys, yes, depending on the number of pitches you’ve thrown. If guys weren’t on track for 80 appearances or innings, I think it’s a little easier. I think guys like Rogers, Varland, Fluharty, they’ll be able to do that pretty soon.”
Help is on the way, too. Yimi García is expected to join the Blue Jays in Chicago after he throws one more rehab outing Thursday in Triple-A, and while we still need to see if García is all the way back to his peak form, a fresh arm can only be good news given the workload this group has carried.