TORONTO — Time and again, the Toronto Blue Jays have shown that they do drama well. Their 43 comeback wins are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for most in the majors. They have a .463 winning percentage when giving up the first run. They’ve won 13 games when behind after six innings, 10 more when trailing after seven and another four when down through eight. In extra innings, they’re 9-4. Bottom line — they don’t go away.

“What gets lost, I think, is yes, we’ve had 43 comeback wins, but the way we play allows us to do that,” manager John Schneider said. “So if it doesn’t start well, you have plays like (the ones centre-fielder Daulton Varsho made Tuesday night), you have a couple double plays and then all of a sudden you can just keep the game within reach. And then guys have responded with their contact ability or hitting a home run, to try to generate some runs. But the key I think is keeping the game where it is and giving yourself a shot.”

They did precisely that in the opener of a three-game set against the Houston Astros and then seemed set to repeat the feat Wednesday night, when they erased a two-run deficit in the eighth inning to tie the game. But Jeff Hoffman gave up a go-ahead solo shot to Yainer Diaz in the ninth inning and the Blue Jays didn’t have a second rally in them, falling 3-2.

The dispiriting end didn’t hurt them in the AL East standings, as at 83-62 they remain three games ahead of the New York Yankees (80-65), who were thumped 11-1 by the Detroit Tigers, and the Boston Red Sox (81-66), who were walked off 5-4 by the Athletics.

But in tagging a 1-1 fastball headed for the inner edge of the plate, Diaz resurfaced an ongoing issue by hitting the 15th homer allowed by Hoffman in 62.1 innings this season. In a combined 118.2 frames the previous two seasons, Hoffman allowed only nine homers, and why he’s taking so much damage this year is a riddle the team is still trying to solve.

“I think teams prepare a little bit differently for a quote-unquote closer and what we’ve been looking at, in particular, is the pitch deployment and when you’re throwing what pitch in what count,” said Schneider. “He’s got three different weapons that are really good and just trying to use them all appropriately is kind of where the damage has come a little bit. If he throws a fastball in off (the plate) there and he’s 2-1, he can go back to probably a slider or a split. That’s kind of the thing there. How to get to those pitches is key. And definitely think that teams are preparing a little bit differently for him.”

Also seeking to make an adjustment was Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios, who came into the outing carrying a 5.47 ERA over his previous 11 starts. Fighting through a recent dip in velocity and inconsistencies with his slurve, he allowed only two runs over 5.1 innings during a steadying outing, albeit one that ended with Carlos Correa’s 200th career home run, a solo shot in the sixth, that doubled Houston’s lead to 2-0.

Berrios also allowed a two-out RBI double to Diaz in the second, but otherwise held down a potent lineup during an outing that deserved a better fate. He felt he was better able to locate a sinker that sat 93.2 m.p.h., up from his season average of 92.1.

“I’ve been using more of my lower body and also staying closed longer to the plate, that way I can create more power every pitch,” Berrios said of the uptick in his velocity.

Astros starter Jason Alexander did his part to make the slim lead hold, stymying the Blue Jays on three hits and a walk over seven innings of weak-contact generation. He got nine outs on the ground and four in the air in an efficient 89 pitches.

Things only turned for the Blue Jays in the eighth, when Isiah Kiner-Falefa started a rally off Steven Okert with a pinch-hit infield single. After Ernie Clement struck out — having first ripped a ball over the left-field wall that was mere feet foul — a second pinch-hit single, this one from Ty France, before an Andres Gimenez base hit made it a 2-1 game.

Enyel De Los Santos came on to strike out George Springer before Nathan Lukes sent a grounder up the middle to tie the game and draw an eruption from the crowd of 36,760. With men on the corners, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded out to end the frame, setting the stage for Diaz in the ninth.

“We’ve been showing that all year long,” Berrios said of the rally in the eighth. “Every player has been contributing to the team and this is fun when we watch that. We fight all together until the last out.”

They’ll do the same in Thursday’s finale against the Astros, when Kevin Gausman starts against Cristian Javier and the Blue Jays try to improve on a 10-10 mark in rubber games.