Things worth mentioning…

• Remember just a couple of days ago when it was starting to look like the Blue Jays were never going to win again? Amazing how quickly things can change. It’s also pretty amazing how much better the Jays look playing at home in Buffalo… aaaaaaand how much worse the Yankees look not playing at their joke stadium.

• Monday’s game was all about the bats as the team exploded for 11 runs. After getting shut down by Michael King over the first couple of innings, the Jays exploded with a five-run third. Alejandro Kirk singled, Cavan Biggio walked, Bo Bichette singled, Teoscar Hernandez singled, Randal Grichuk singled, and Vlad Jr. capped it all off with a double. Immediately after, the Jays added some insurance with a four-run fourth inning that turned the game into a breeze.
• There were a few big performances on Monday, but two of them stand out the most. First, there was Vlad Jr., who had one of his best days at the plate this season, going three-for-three with a single, double, triple, and a walk. Getting Vladdy going at the plate heading into the playoffs would be ideal. And, second, there was Alejandro Kirk, who had his J.P. Arencibia day. Kirk went four-for-four with a couple of singles, a double, and his first MLB home run. Let’s hope things go better for him in the long term than JPA (Jokes aside, I’m confident they will).

• Though the offence was the story on Monday, we should also mention the pitching. Matt Shoemaker made his return after spending a month on the Injured List and allowed just one earned run over three innings of work. Shoemaker’s fastball averaged 93.9 miles-per-hour, which was a bit higher than his 91.9 mph average from before his injury. I doubt Shoemaker will be able to get stretched out for a full start, but him being able to provide the Jays three or four innings in a playoff game like that would be very welcomed.
• After that, T.J. Zeuch pitched three-and-one-third strong innings, allowing just one run, and Patrick Murphy tossed one-and-two thirds, allowing no runs. The Jays were almost able to get through it without making a high-leverage guy stand up, but Wilmer Font shit himself in the ninth inning. Font managed to get two outs and then allowed a three-run double, so Shun Yamaguchi had to come in for the final out. Rafael Dolis also started to warm up, which isn’t ideal. But, if that’s the biggest complaint of the night, things went well.