A strong start from Robbie Ray helps get the Blue Jays back in the win column

Things worth mentioning…

• Robbie Ray got the start tonight in what should have been Hyun Jin Ryu’s turn in the rotation, but the team opted to give the ace an extra day of rest. Ray gave the Blue Jays everything they could have asked for, holding the Mets to just one run over five innings of work. This was a much different Ray than we’ve seen so far, as he was hitting as high as 97 miles-per-hour on his heater. That’s a pretty significant rise from where he usually sits. Ray was also pounding the strike zone a lot more than he generally has been this season, as he walked just two batters over his five innings. Really encouraging stuff.

• Beyond Ray, the big story of Saturday’s game was the debut of catcher Alejandro Kirk. Given the fact he’s skipping Double- and Triple-A, it’s difficult to say what to expect from Toronto’s No. 6 prospect. But, in his debut, Kirk didn’t look at all out of place. He took a walk and hit a single and his two ground outs were hit 107.4 and 107 miles-per-hour respectively. All told, Kirk had three of the five hardest-hit balls of the game.

• Kirk also showed some big-time wheels…

• Somewhat overshadowed by Kirk’s debut was the long-awaited return of Bo Bichette, who missed nearly a month due to a knee injury. In his return from the Injured List, Bo went 1-for-4 and scored a run… twice. Bo scored all the way from first on a double by Travis Shaw but the play was called back because the ball got stuck underneath the outfield wall. Bo would end up scoring immediately after on an infield single by Randal Grichuk, so it was moot anyway.
• Finally, a well-rested bullpen put together an excellent four innings for the Jays after Ray exited the game. Julian Merryweather allowed one run over two innings, Anthony Bass had a clean eighth, and Rafael Dolis picked up the save thanks to a great double-play and a walk-off pick-off, which is something you don’t see often. It’s nice to see the Mets being the Mets.