{"id":144291,"date":"2025-09-14T22:52:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T22:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/144291\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T22:52:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T22:52:06","slug":"blue-jays-tighten-grasp-on-first-place-in-al-east-with-sweep-of-orioles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/144291\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays tighten grasp on first place in AL East with sweep of Orioles"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014\u00a0Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, there was a distinct feeling of possibility around the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the course of a long baseball season, days where it all comes together are rare \u2013 even for good teams. But on a summery September day with the dome open and every seat full, the Blue Jays had themselves a day, winning 11-2 to sweep the Orioles en route to their MLB-leading 46th comeback win of the season.<\/p>\n

Prized trade deadline acquisition Shane Bieber<\/a> allowed just one run over six innings, George Springer<\/a>\u2019s resurgent season continued with his 29th home run, and no one had to stress about the bullpen on a day the runs just kept coming. Adding to the sense of momentum around this team, top prospect Trey Yesavage arrived Sunday morning ahead of his MLB debut Monday against the Rays.<\/p>\n

From start to finish, the Blue Jays couldn\u2019t have asked for a better Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever in doubt with this offence,\u201d Bieber said after the Blue Jays completed a 5-1 homestand. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting. We\u2019re in a pennant race playing good baseball, and that\u2019s really what it\u2019s all about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A couple weeks from now, the playoffs will begin and stress levels will ratchet up quickly. But for now, as the Blue Jays\u2019 grasp on first place tightens a little with their 87th win of the season, it\u2019s perhaps worth zooming out a little and savouring the incredibly strong position this team has created for itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou appreciate the hell out of it,\u201d said manager John Schneider. \u201cBecause these guys work really hard for it and it\u2019s nice to feel in lockstep with your fanbase. When it is like this, you have to enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pending the results of Sunday\u2019s Red Sox-Yankees game, the Blue Jays will begin the penultimate week of the season ahead of New York by either 3.0 or 4.0 games while owning the tiebreaker against both AL East rivals.<\/p>\n

Rarely have the vibes been quite this good over the course of the last decade. Then again, the record\u2019s rarely been quite this good either. With a 7-6 finish or better, the Blue Jays would end the year with 94 wins, more than they\u2019ve had in any season since 1993.<\/p>\n

Bieber’s six innings were essential to this win, and the right-hander allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out five and lowering his season ERA to 3.72. This is exactly the kind of outing the Blue Jays envisioned when they acquired him from Cleveland for prospect Khal Stephen at the trade deadline.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can pitch,\u201d Schneider said of Bieber. \u201cHe was in total control today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s fun to work behind,\u201d added infielder Ernie Clement<\/a>. \u201cHe gets a lot of weak contact, so it makes our job easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks in large part to Springer, the Blue Jays had another big offensive day, too. Not only did the 35-year-old homer to lead off the fifth inning, he doubled twice as his season batting average climbed to .303 and his OPS went up to .949.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still can\u2019t believe he didn\u2019t make the All-Star team,\u201d Schneider remarked. \u201cThird-highest OPS in the league (behind Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani). His numbers speak for themselves. We needed George to rebound, and this is arguably one of his best seasons in his career. He\u2019s kind of the straw that stirs the drink, if you will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond Springer, there were contributors up and down the lineup with a three-hit day from Alejandro Kirk and three driven in by both Clement and Addison Barger. Only three MLB teams have outscored the Blue Jays this season, and even with Bo Bichette and Anthony Santander on the injured list they’re capable of causing real problems for opposing pitchers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a team effort,\u201d Clement said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s just so fun to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Better still, the Blue Jays have been able to avoid relying too heavily on their high-leverage relievers in recent days. Kevin Gausman\u2019s complete game Thursday helped, as did Sunday\u2019s blowout. As a result, closer Jeff Hoffman had four consecutive days without game action \u2013 a rarity this time of year, and a welcome change of pace for a reliever who\u2019s already pitched in 65 games.<\/p>\n

Next up, the final road trip of the season, starting with a chance for Yesavage to make his MLB debut against the Rays. By the time the Blue Jays return home in eight days, they hope to have clinched a playoff berth and made further strides in their quest for a first-round bye.<\/p>\n

Day by day, the Blue Jays have focused on small-scale goals like throwing strikes, hustling down the baselines and trusting their teammates. Simple as it sounds, those efforts are adding up, putting far bigger achievements within reach for a team that missed last year’s playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve put ourselves in a great position,\u201d Clement said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to finish strong, and I think we\u2019re going to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014\u00a0Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, there was a distinct feeling of possibility around the Toronto Blue Jays.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-144291","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}