Blue Jays Scrape By Astros, Collect Postseason Advantage

It was trending toward a night of missed chances.

The Blue Jays stranded the bases loaded early, left eight runners on base, and seemed set to squander José Berríos' latest strong start. But with one big inning, and a few cracked liners, the Jays squeezed out a needed win over the Astros — a win that could have real postseason implications.

"It's nice to really rebound from the opening game of this [series] and get three in a row," Schneider said. "They're tough. They're good."

After George Springer missed a bases-loaded opportunity in the second inning, Alejandro Kirk came up with the tying run on third in the fifth. The Jays sat down one run after Framber Valdez picked through four frames of dominance, but Bo Bichette stood 90 feet from a tie. Kirk's been chilly at the plate of late, with just one extra-base hit in his last 14 games, but with his team needing a clutch knock, the catcher came through.

The backstop slammed a deep double into center that soared over a diving Chas McCormick. As Kirk's hit found grass, a bouncing Bichette slammed his palms together in celebration before turning to cross the plate.

"I was looking for sinker," Kirk said through interpreter Hector Lebron. "I mean, the previous at-bat he got me with the sinker, so I was just looking for one up in the zone and I got it."

A batter later, Brandon Belt cranked a liner of his own into right field to cash one more run, putting Toronto in front 3-2, a score that would stick. The fifth-inning outburst backed up a carving Berríos, who dodged through an aggressive Astros lineup for his seventh quality of the season. It wasn't a pretty win, as the Jays were out-hit and out-chanced, but it was a scrappy series-sealing victory that could have plenty of meaning in October.

Alejandro Kirk delivers to give the Jays the lead. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/tZAylnaGPQ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 8, 2023

It's hard for an early-June game to be dripping with playoff implication, but Thursday's win over the Astros may mean a lot for Toronto. The Blue Jays' victory stole the season series over Houston (4-3), giving Toronto hold of a potential playoff tiebreaker if the teams are all square come October.

"You're aware of that for sure. I think we're gonna grow faster, run faster, try harder," Schneider joked before the game. "But I mean yeah, it's there. I think over the course of a season, you never know when one game or a tiebreaker kind of comes into play."

After Thursday's contest, Houston and Toronto were separated by just a half-game in the AL Wild Card standings.

The Blue Jays' disastrous May dug the team back to the pack among Wild Card contenders. As of Thursday night, the Jays sit a half-game out of the playoffs and five teams stand within six games in the top of the Wild Card standings.

But, Toronto can't go back and revoke that 11-17 May. All they can do now is win series, earn those potentially crucial tiebreaks, and chip back into the October picture. A series win over the Astros helps the cause, and could end up unfathomably important if the standings stay close in a few months.

"We had a tough month. But we were still all together like a team," Berríos said. Obviously, things weren't going the way we wanted, already in June we've started playing better. If we stay together and keep playing, that thing can turn on."