3 Takeaways From Blue Jays' Nail-Biting Win Over Mets

NEW YORK — Blue Jays manager John Schneider had to wait for the delayed feed in his office.

The Toronto skipper had just been ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the ninth inning when he heard cheers from the Jays' dugout. He knew something good had happened, but he didn't see Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s game-winning double until his office television caught up.

The Guerrero Jr. knock broke a stalemate contest in Toronto's favor, as the Jays nudged out a 2-1 win over the Mets on Saturday. Here are three takeaways from Toronto's victory:

Vladdy Cashes Winner

Guerrero Jr. lashed out with his fist as he rolled into second base. The first baseman’s yanked grounder had rolled just by the outstretched glove of Brett Baty, skittering into left field.

All day, the Jays struggled to cash the big run. They stranded the bases loaded in the first, ran into an out at home in the eighth, and left 11 runners on in total. But, as Guerrero Jr. celebrated on second, George Springer rolled home with the game-winning run.

"He's been grinding," Schneider said. "There's been some really good swings, there's been some hard-hit balls. And I think, results aside, I think the time of the game that it was for him, what it meant for the outcome, is going to be big for him."

As the inning ended, Kevin Kiermaier ran out with Guerrero's glove, greeting the slugger with some words of encouragement and a slap on the chest. Guerrero Jr.'s been in a slump of late, posting a .217 average and .533 OPS in his last 15 games. But, with the pulled grounder on Saturday, he earned Toronto a game and series win.

"That's the way you do it," Kiermaier told Guerrero. "That's the way you respond after a bad call, after the manager gets thrown out. That's the way you do it."

Berríos Brings The Bender

Much of José Berríos' rebound this season has come on the back of fastball command and conviction. But on Saturday against the Mets, Berríos busted out the bender.

Almost half the righty's pitches were breaking balls and his 41 slurves were the most Berríos has thrown in a start since 2021. Berríos earned seven whiffs on the pitch and a gaudy 49% called strike plus whiff rate.

"Nasty," Schneider said of the slurve. "He was landing it back door at will, he was putting it out of the zone when he wanted to."

José Berríos, Nasty 84mph Breaking Ball. 😨 pic.twitter.com/vxwKY9VRyv
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 3, 2023

Despite hucking the rainbow almost half the time, Berríos kept opponents off the pitch by toying with the velocity. On Saturday Toronto's starter threw his breaking ball anywhere from 75 to 85 MPH. The velo manipulation was something the Jays saw Chris Bassitt have success with the night before, noticing the Mets sitting on his ‘harder’ slider. So they brought it into Saturday, too.

“[Berríos] is really athletic and has a good feel for it. Can kind of manipulate it, a little bit slower a little bit harder," Schneider said. "I think we’re used to seeing it like 80 to 83 usually and he can take a little bit off, you know.”

Leverage Nate

Welcome to high leverage, Nate Pearson. Get comfortable.

The righty entered Saturday's contest with a tie game in the eighth, tasked with the heart of New York's order. Even a rare Matt Chapman error and even rarer Pete Alonso stolen base couldn't stop Pearson from slicing through the Mets' bats. On 16 pitches (11 strikes) Pearson posted his fifth-straight outing without an earned run against.

With two more strikeouts on Saturday, Pearson has 11 Ks to just one BB in his last seven innings pitched. As Pearson's ERA drops (down to 1.59 on the season), his importance in Toronto's bullpen grows.

"Today was a big test for him and I think he more than answered the bell," Schneider said.