'Every Game Matters': Blue Jays Scrape Out Needed Series Win

Steven Matz and the Blue Jays lineup pulled out a needed series win against Baltimore

The dust kicked up and drifted down the line as Bo Bichette popped up at home. The throw was cut off, but Bichette got down and dirty anyway.

The shortstop’s second slide home nudged Toronto ahead in a contest they desperately needed. With 30 games remaining, and in need of 21 wins to reach the 90-win threshold, even series wins may not be good enough. Against the Orioles, two of three was a near must — obligatory to keep eyes on October.

“It was definitely one of those grinding outings,” starter Steven Matz said.

Teoscar Hernández’s wrist took a direct 94 MPH hit to push Bichette into scoring position in the eighth. Alejandro Kirk took an inside fastball 402-feet into center to move the runners to second and third. Randal Grichuk took advantage.

"Every game matters," Marcus Semien said after the game. "Doesn’t matter how you get it done. We want to be a team that can win any kind of way."

The Grichuk sac fly bought the Jays a one-run lead, and 17 Jordan Romano pitches ensured it was all they needed. Toronto returned two leads, walked six Orioles, and walked the line of a loss all evening, but they found a way to win.

In the second, a called strike and foul-off presented Matz with a path out of a difficult early inning. After loading the bases and falling behind 3-0, Matz was an executed pitch away from shutting the Baltimore rally down and retaining Toronto’s early lead. But, like all things Wednesday, it couldn’t be easy.

Matz walked a pair of runners in, forking over the lead and forcing Toronto’s bullpen into early action. Like the offense and bullpen, Matz, too, found a way to get it done. 

Matz lost feeling for his pitches in the second, he said, and never fully got it back. He had to find a way to get outs, focusing on staying over the fat part of the plate and not trying to be as fine with his locations. The lefty battled through three more frames to finish with five innings pitched and two earned runs. He wasn't perfect, but against the American League's second-worst offense, he grinded.

“He found a way,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. 

Matz didn’t earn the win, but he allowed the Blue Jays to snag it a few frames later. It was the type of close game they've lost this season, but as the calendar flips to September, it was a game they needed.