Blue Jay Ernie Clement gets water dumped on him by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Mark Budzinski after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre on Saturday.Kevin Sousa/Reuters
In the top of the fifth inning, the Toronto Blue Jays were up on the Tampa Bay Rays by three runs.
Given that the Jays have spent the last ten days or so trying to cough up the American League East, and that the Yankees had already won their Saturday afternoon game walking away, it didn’t feel like three runs. Down at the Rogers Centre, it felt more like quarter of a run. Maybe even a tenth of a run.
ICYMI: Despite Blue Jays 5-1 win over Rays, league winner remains uncertain
Tampa’s Chandler Simpson doubled to start that Rays’ inning. Rookie Toronto starter Trey Yesavage hung his head. You started to get that terrible feeling you so often do if you watch much Toronto sports.
The next batter lined a ball into deepish right field. It was caught by Nathan Lukes. Simpson - who is one of the fastest guys in Major League Baseball - was running before you could hear the sound of the line drive hitting Lukes’ glove.
This was a no-chance play. More than a few right fielders would have aimed for the cutoff man. Lukes threw a laser beam to third base. Simpson beat the throw, but in his zeal, slid off the back of the base.
Toronto's Addison Barger puts the tag on Tampa Bay Rays' Chandler Simpson during the fifth inning.Kevin Sousa/Reuters
Toronto’s Addison Barger received the throw. Most third basemen don’t do much more than swipe at a guy who’s already a long way past them. Barger chased Simpson as he slid off the bag. The two of them seemed to wrestle for an instant. The out was called.
A long time after Simpson had slunk off the field, Barger was still grinning like the cat who got the cream.
“(Lukes) knows he’s not going to get him,” Jays manager John Schneider said of the play later. “Nate’s just playing baseball.”
That F9, 9-5 double play was a small moment in the Jays 5-1 win on Saturday, but it illustrates what makes this 2025 Jays’ team different. It isn’t being led by the stars, too many whom aren’t playing like stars in the last little while.
It’s being dragged forward by guys you only just heard of, doing things that Jays’ teams of recent vintage never bothered to do. It’s a team that works from the bottom up, rather than the top down.
Trey Yesavage sets to pitch against Tampa Bay at home on Saturday.Kevin Sousa/Reuters
The first and best of those on Sunday was Yesavage. He is twenty-two years old, which is about half-a-Scherzer, and veteran of two major-league starts. This is the guy they call on with the division in the balance.
Yesavage is one of those athletes who has the quality of looking anxious and exhausted as he’s warming up before the game starts. It’s a charming quirk in the affectless world of pro sports, but only if you win.
Afterward, Yesavage came out and channelled the spirit of Ernie Banks: “If I could do it again tomorrow, I would.”
The Jays don’t have to win on Sunday for this to be a successful season. They could lose and still win the division, though that would be leaving it up to the Yankees to do the same.
But losing the division would dent the myth they have spent the last few months building up - that this is a team that finds a way to do it in the end.
They get that, which is why they are sending out their most reliable starter, Kevin Gausman, to start Sunday’s final game of the season.
If Toronto doesn’t end up winning the division, Gausman won’t be available to start in the wild-card series. At least, not on the normal amount of rest. The Jays aren’t putting everything on the line, but they’re putting a lot.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman gets gatorade dumped on him after pitching a complete game against the Houston Astros on Sept. 11.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
They must also realize that if it comes down to the final day, and breaks their way, they’ve got the whole sports-loving portion of the country in their pocket for the duration.
If they don’t manage it? Then they have to work to convince everyone again, including themselves.
In New York, they’re trying to write a different story on Sunday. In this one, the most talented, most expensive roster in the American League rewires their all-over-the-place season by nose right at the end. Otherwise, they’re the ones looking at their biggest nightmare - losing a playoff series to Boston in the Bronx.
“That’s the beauty of our sport,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday. “For those of us, and you guys, and the fans who live and die with their teams all summer long, it should make for an exciting day.”
Only one thing for sure - it’s not going to be exciting for someone.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that a double play took place during the Jays' Sunday game. It occurred during the Saturday game.