Sweep! Wacky sixth paves way for Kiermaier’s go-ahead blast

TORONTO — Another wild and wacky win has brought the Blue Jays to the doorstep of the series that’s been circled for weeks. 

Sunday’s 5-2 win over the Royals at Rogers Centre sealed the series sweep and gave the Blue Jays a 10-5 record over the softest stretch of schedule a contender could ask for. Now that they’ve taken care of that business, it’s on to the Rangers, who the Blue Jays are trying to put to bed in the American League Wild Card race.

The Blue Jays now sit comfortably in the second AL Wild Card spot. This race has taken so many different shapes over the past month, but it’s been narrowed down to three clubs fighting for the final two spots and the Blue Jays have finally put themselves back in the driver’s seat.

“September. This is when it becomes the most fun,” said Kevin Kiermaier. “October is creeping up. This is what you play for every year, to have a chance and an opportunity to play in the playoffs. If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re just trying to get our foot in the door any way possible. I love where we’re at right now.”

There was nothing normal about Sunday’s win, though. 

Facing Cole Ragans, the young lefty who has been brilliant since joining the Royals, the Blue Jays’ offense was dead quiet for nearly six innings. Then, in one of the strangest sequences of pitching you’ll ever see, the Blue Jays were handed two runs. 

Ragans threw three consecutive wild pitches, each of them sailing a mile above the strike zone before crashing into the backstop. This allowed the two Blue Jays baserunners to advance, then score on the second and third Hail Marys. Alejandro Kirk, who was standing at the plate for all three, would have needed a telephone pole to foul one off.

It’s only fitting then that it was Kiermaier — the No. 9 hitter who joked in February that he’d like to hit zero homers — who launched the home run to put the Blue Jays in front. This isn’t the offense that anyone had in their office pool, but weird wins count just the same as beautiful ones, especially with the Rangers coming to town. 

“We’re doing what we need to do,” said George Springer. “Every game is important, so we just want to win. It doesn’t really matter how you do it, you just want to do it.”

Now comes the hard part. Ask a veteran player and they’ll tell you this is the fun part, the games that make those long road trips and dog days worth it.

“We have to play great baseball from here on out,” Kiermaier said. “Our opponents are all in the thick of it and in a similar boat to us. We’re in a great position right now. Life is all about taking advantage of opportunities on and off the field. Our team has a great opportunity.”

This Blue Jays team knows how to get hot down the stretch, too.

In 2022, the Blue Jays went 22-11 after Sept. 1. The year prior, they fell just short of the postseason but went 22-9 in that same stretch. A repeat of that would put the Blue Jays right back in the playoffs, likely as something better than the third and final Wild Card team.

In recent weeks, John Schneider’s message to the team has shifted to look forward and only forward. What’s already happened, Schneider says, the Blue Jays can’t get back. They can’t correct those heartbreaking losses or rewrite the stats to cover up their many ailments. What they can do, though, is change how this story ends.

“There’s a certain demeanor and aura in the clubhouse right now,” Kiermaier said. “I always said that when we fire on all cylinders, we’re one of the most dangerous teams in baseball. It’s up to us to back up what I’m saying right now.”

That starts Monday, and if the Blue Jays can finally do what Kiermaier has long envisioned, this series against the Rangers can be a launching pad.