<p>When the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/">Blue Jays</a> magically won their game against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, Max Scherzer hammered home by highlighting Toronto’s must-win mentality. And as Scherzer said, the Blue Jays have found ways to kick, scratch and claw their way back this season with league-leading 45 comeback wins.</p>
<p>Toronto is no longer just a team getting lucky; comebacks are a part of their calling card that rivals can’t ignore. While all comebacks have been enthralling, these five comebacks are perhaps the most critical ones that changed the Blue Jays’ narrative this year.</p>
<h3><strong>Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays (April 30): 7 &#8211; 6 </strong></h3>
<p>Turning back the clock to April, the Boston Red Sox were overpowering the Blue Jays with Lucas Giolito on the mound on April 30th at the Rogers Centre. Boston’s lineup found ways to score against Toronto’s pitching staff, including Yariel Rodriguez, Eric Lauer and Chad Green. The score was 6-0 in the Red Sox’s favour heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, which drastically dropped the Blue Jays’ comeback odds at the time. In the bottom half of the frame, the Blue Jays would start the comeback train, with Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk homering against Giolito to cut down Boston’s lead in half. Then, Anthony Santander took reliever Garrett Whitlock deep in the bottom of the seventh to tie up the game at 6-6.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays couldn’t find ways to score against closer Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth, but they scored in the bottom of the tenth with Kirk delivering the game-winning hit with bases loaded after the Red Sox opted to walk Springer and Daulton Varsho to load the bases to face Kirk with one out. It was also Kirk&#8217;s &#8216;bobble-arm&#8217; night at the Rogers Centre, which made the walk-off even more entertaining.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alejandro Kirk walks it off on his bobble-arm night! <a href="https://t.co/RQ4AH09rTV">pic.twitter.com/RQ4AH09rTV</a></p>
<p>&mdash; MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1917762359583543657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Toronto’s closer, Jeff Hoffman, was also an unsung hero who helped hold down the Red Sox lineup to two innings of a no-run game. This was the start of the Blue Jays’ surge to the top of the AL East. They still had a losing record (14-16) at the time, but little did they know, they would get the chance to climb the division from here on out.</p>
<h3><strong>New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays (June 30): 5 &#8211; 4</strong></h3>
<p>Up until this point in the season, the Blue Jays had a losing record against the feared New York Yankees after losing a series in the Bronx earlier in the season.. The Yankees proved why they were the division leader when Jazz Chisholm Jr. took Max Scherzer deep to score two runs in the fourth inning. In contrast, Carlos Rodón cruised through five innings and managed to give up only one run in the process.</p>
<p>Toronto gave up more runs in the top of the sixth with Giancarlo Stanton delivering an RBI single to make the score 3-1. But the Blue Jays punched back in the bottom of the sixth and drove Rodón from the mound. When Mark Leiter Jr. replaced Rodon, Toronto’s offence began to put more balls in play, with Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement and Guerrero scoring four more runs to bring the score back up to 5-3. Former All-Star outfielder Cody Bellinger threatened a comeback with a solo home run in the top of the eighth, but Jeff Hoffman held the Yankees’ bats at bay to close out the game, helping the Blue Jays win the first game of the long four-game stretch.</p>
<p>This game was the beginning of the Blue Jays’ rally to take over the AL East division and exposed New York’s detrimental weaknesses along the way. From Toronto’s perspective, this was the crux of their underdog moment. The team had all the more reason to be optimistic from here on out.</p>
<h3><strong>New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays (July 1): 12 &#8211; 5</strong></h3>
<p>Believe it or not, the Blue Jays have an all-time 17-29 record on games played on July 1. Canada Day is a tough task for the lone Canadian squad in the Major Leagues, and with the Yankees at Rogers Centre, winning was even more of a tall task.</p>
<p>The start of this year’s Canada Day game was pretty ugly for the Blue Jays as Kevin Gausman loaded the bases, with rookie outfielder Jasson Dominguez delivered a two-run single for New York. The score was now 2-0, and Yankees’ ace Max Fried had three stress-free innings under his belt in return.</p>
<p>When the bottom of the fourth came around, Springer started with a solo homer against Fried and David Schneider reached base via a throwing error from third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. This ultimately paved the way for Andrés Giménez’s three-run home run, and the score was now 4-2 in Toronto’s favour.</p>
<p>The New York Yankees then tied up the game at the top of the seventh with good at-bats and errors from the Jays. The score was now tied 4-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh, and they threatened New York once more by loading the bases.</p>
<p>Clement then made up for his error with a base hit, and George Springer delivered a magnificent grand slam to blow it open, with the Jays scoring five total runs in the frame. The score was now at 9-4, giving more than enough lead for Toronto to protect. Springer then added some more runs in the bottom half of the inning and had a total of seven RBIs by the end of this game. The Yankees did score one more run in the top of the ninth, but the<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/instant-reaction-toronto-blue-jays-thump-yankees-12-5-move-game-behind-division-leaders"> Blue Jays</a> had already outscored them by seven runs by then.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">GEORGE SPRINGER, WELCOME TO YOUR CANADA DAY MOMENT! <a href="https://t.co/B22ZhbHvLd">pic.twitter.com/B22ZhbHvLd</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1940166553468621064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h3><strong>Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Dodgers (August 10): 5 &#8211; 4 </strong></h3>
<p>The Blue Jays weren’t playing their best baseball in August, with the team letting the Los Angeles Dodgers win two games out of the three-game series at Dodger Stadium. Heading into the last game, Toronto needed to salvage this game to reignite the positive momentum. The start of the game wasn’t bad, with Guerrero bringing Bo Bichette in to score first. But Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman homered off Eric Lauer to overtake the lead, and Lauer gave up one more run in the bottom of the second by loading the bases and walking in a run, giving the Dodgers a 3-1 lead heading into the third inning.</p>
<p>Tyler Glasnow was mowing down the Blue Jays’ offence without giving any breathing room. Toronto scored one more run against Glasnow to cut down the Dodgers’ lead to 3-2 in the sixth inning, but things were looking bleak for Toronto. While the Blue Jays’ relief pitching played with fire with Dodgers hitters on base, throwing out Ohtani at third during the bottom of the sixth helped the team get out of the jam.</p>
<p>If that wasn’t enough, Guerrero and Barger took reliever Blake Treinen deep to take the lead at the top of the eighth with the score of 4-3. Unfortunately for the Jays, Hoffman couldn’t command the zone during the eighth and ninth innings, which resulted in the Dodgers threatening for a walk-off win. Even though Ernie Clement provided an insurance run with his solo knock in the ninth inning, southpaw reliever Mason Fluharty had to take on the job Hoffman couldn’t finish.</p>
<p>He was tasked with securing two outs against two former MVPs, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts and against all odds, Fluharty dialled up his stuff and struck out Ohtani and got Betts to ground out to earn his first-ever save in his career. The Blue Jays may not have won the series against the NL West division leader, but winning this game restored the team’s confidence as they headed back home for two series against the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers. This win was one of the most heart-attack-inducing wins in the 2025 Blue Jays’ season, but also the grittiest one, where Toronto showed its tenacity.</p>
<h3>Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays (September 13): 5 &#8211; 4</h3>
<p>Call it a recency bias, but the latest <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/instant-reaction-toronto-blue-jays-score-runs-ninth-inning-beat-baltimore-orioles">Blue Jays</a> game is one of the most dramatic, action-packed games to date. While the Blue Jays mustered up to score two runs against the Baltimore Orioles’ pitching staff, they gave up four runs to the pesky opponents. The Blue Jays had tons of opportunities to increase their RISP, but three double plays cost them dearly. By the time the game reached the bottom of the ninth and Schneider flew out to Colton Coswer, the Orioles seemed to have locked away the sure 4-2 win. However, the Blue Jays had other plans.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">ALEJANDRO KIRK WALKS US OFF, AND THE BLUE JAYS COMPLETE THE COMEBACK!</p>
<p>🎥 Sportsnet <a href="https://t.co/XBgPfUDxLh">pic.twitter.com/XBgPfUDxLh</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Blue Jays Nation (@thejaysnation) <a href="https://twitter.com/thejaysnation/status/1966983358074036655?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>When Daulton Varsho came up to the plate following Schneider, he tried something he hadn’t really done often this season: he bunted for a base hit. Putting the ball in play has been Toronto’s strength, and thanks to Keegan Akin&#8217;s wild throw to first, Varsho ended up on second base. Following Varsho, Clement, Loperfido and Giménez managed to generate base hits off new reliever Yennier Cano to tie up the game at 4-4. Manager John Schneider had deployed Alejandro Kirk in the eighth inning to pinch hit for Lukes, and the Jays catcher found himself in a walkoff position in the next frame. Kirk would drive the ball deep to centre field, and with Loperfido on third base, he came into score. Just like that, the Blue Jays erased the four-run deficit to take the win.</p>
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<p>Love baseball? Don’t miss The 6ix Inning Stretch — the brand new podcast from The Nation Network, presented by Betway. Hosted by Toronto sports reporter Lindsay Dunn and 3-time MLB All-Star Whit Merrifield, this weekly show delivers insider stories, unfiltered Jays talk, player interviews, and expert analysis from around the majors. New episodes drop every Wednesday — listen on your favourite podcast platform or watch on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bluejaysnationdotcom" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/@bluejaysnationdotcom&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1752618160475000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0OzeJ9qt2a5kxzVjmdwaEg">Bluejaysnation YouTube channel.</a></p>
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When the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/">Blue Jays</a> magically won their game against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, Max Scherzer hammered home by highlighting Toronto’s must-win mentality. And as Scherzer said, the Blue Jays have found ways to kick, scratch and claw their way back this season with league-leading 45 comeback wins.

Toronto is no longer just a team getting lucky; comebacks are a part of their calling card that rivals can’t ignore. While all comebacks have been enthralling, these five comebacks are perhaps the most critical ones that changed the Blue Jays’ narrative this year.
<h3><strong>Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays (April 30): 7 - 6 </strong></h3>
Turning back the clock to April, the Boston Red Sox were overpowering the Blue Jays with Lucas Giolito on the mound on April 30th at the Rogers Centre. Boston’s lineup found ways to score against Toronto’s pitching staff, including Yariel Rodriguez, Eric Lauer and Chad Green. The score was 6-0 in the Red Sox’s favour heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, which drastically dropped the Blue Jays’ comeback odds at the time. In the bottom half of the frame, the Blue Jays would start the comeback train, with Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk homering against Giolito to cut down Boston’s lead in half. Then, Anthony Santander took reliever Garrett Whitlock deep in the bottom of the seventh to tie up the game at 6-6.

The Blue Jays couldn’t find ways to score against closer Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth, but they scored in the bottom of the tenth with Kirk delivering the game-winning hit with bases loaded after the Red Sox opted to walk Springer and Daulton Varsho to load the bases to face Kirk with one out. It was also Kirk's 'bobble-arm' night at the Rogers Centre, which made the walk-off even more entertaining.

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1917762359583543657

Toronto’s closer, Jeff Hoffman, was also an unsung hero who helped hold down the Red Sox lineup to two innings of a no-run game. This was the start of the Blue Jays’ surge to the top of the AL East. They still had a losing record (14-16) at the time, but little did they know, they would get the chance to climb the division from here on out.
<h3><strong>New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays (June 30): 5 - 4</strong></h3>
Up until this point in the season, the Blue Jays had a losing record against the feared New York Yankees after losing a series in the Bronx earlier in the season.. The Yankees proved why they were the division leader when Jazz Chisholm Jr. took Max Scherzer deep to score two runs in the fourth inning. In contrast, Carlos Rodón cruised through five innings and managed to give up only one run in the process.

Toronto gave up more runs in the top of the sixth with Giancarlo Stanton delivering an RBI single to make the score 3-1. But the Blue Jays punched back in the bottom of the sixth and drove Rodón from the mound. When Mark Leiter Jr. replaced Rodon, Toronto’s offence began to put more balls in play, with Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement and Guerrero scoring four more runs to bring the score back up to 5-3. Former All-Star outfielder Cody Bellinger threatened a comeback with a solo home run in the top of the eighth, but Jeff Hoffman held the Yankees’ bats at bay to close out the game, helping the Blue Jays win the first game of the long four-game stretch.

This game was the beginning of the Blue Jays’ rally to take over the AL East division and exposed New York’s detrimental weaknesses along the way. From Toronto’s perspective, this was the crux of their underdog moment. The team had all the more reason to be optimistic from here on out.
<h3><strong>New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays (July 1): 12 - 5</strong></h3>
Believe it or not, the Blue Jays have an all-time 17-29 record on games played on July 1. Canada Day is a tough task for the lone Canadian squad in the Major Leagues, and with the Yankees at Rogers Centre, winning was even more of a tall task.

The start of this year’s Canada Day game was pretty ugly for the Blue Jays as Kevin Gausman loaded the bases, with rookie outfielder Jasson Dominguez delivered a two-run single for New York. The score was now 2-0, and Yankees’ ace Max Fried had three stress-free innings under his belt in return.

When the bottom of the fourth came around, Springer started with a solo homer against Fried and David Schneider reached base via a throwing error from third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. This ultimately paved the way for Andrés Giménez’s three-run home run, and the score was now 4-2 in Toronto’s favour.

The New York Yankees then tied up the game at the top of the seventh with good at-bats and errors from the Jays. The score was now tied 4-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh, and they threatened New York once more by loading the bases.

Clement then made up for his error with a base hit, and George Springer delivered a magnificent grand slam to blow it open, with the Jays scoring five total runs in the frame. The score was now at 9-4, giving more than enough lead for Toronto to protect. Springer then added some more runs in the bottom half of the inning and had a total of seven RBIs by the end of this game. The Yankees did score one more run in the top of the ninth, but the<a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/instant-reaction-toronto-blue-jays-thump-yankees-12-5-move-game-behind-division-leaders"> Blue Jays</a> had already outscored them by seven runs by then.

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1940166553468621064
<h3><strong>Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Dodgers (August 10): 5 - 4 </strong></h3>
The Blue Jays weren’t playing their best baseball in August, with the team letting the Los Angeles Dodgers win two games out of the three-game series at Dodger Stadium. Heading into the last game, Toronto needed to salvage this game to reignite the positive momentum. The start of the game wasn’t bad, with Guerrero bringing Bo Bichette in to score first. But Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman homered off Eric Lauer to overtake the lead, and Lauer gave up one more run in the bottom of the second by loading the bases and walking in a run, giving the Dodgers a 3-1 lead heading into the third inning.

Tyler Glasnow was mowing down the Blue Jays’ offence without giving any breathing room. Toronto scored one more run against Glasnow to cut down the Dodgers’ lead to 3-2 in the sixth inning, but things were looking bleak for Toronto. While the Blue Jays’ relief pitching played with fire with Dodgers hitters on base, throwing out Ohtani at third during the bottom of the sixth helped the team get out of the jam.

If that wasn’t enough, Guerrero and Barger took reliever Blake Treinen deep to take the lead at the top of the eighth with the score of 4-3. Unfortunately for the Jays, Hoffman couldn’t command the zone during the eighth and ninth innings, which resulted in the Dodgers threatening for a walk-off win. Even though Ernie Clement provided an insurance run with his solo knock in the ninth inning, southpaw reliever Mason Fluharty had to take on the job Hoffman couldn’t finish.

He was tasked with securing two outs against two former MVPs, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts and against all odds, Fluharty dialled up his stuff and struck out Ohtani and got Betts to ground out to earn his first-ever save in his career. The Blue Jays may not have won the series against the NL West division leader, but winning this game restored the team’s confidence as they headed back home for two series against the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers. This win was one of the most heart-attack-inducing wins in the 2025 Blue Jays’ season, but also the grittiest one, where Toronto showed its tenacity.
<h3>Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays (September 13): 5 - 4</h3>
Call it a recency bias, but the latest <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/instant-reaction-toronto-blue-jays-score-runs-ninth-inning-beat-baltimore-orioles">Blue Jays</a> game is one of the most dramatic, action-packed games to date. While the Blue Jays mustered up to score two runs against the Baltimore Orioles’ pitching staff, they gave up four runs to the pesky opponents. The Blue Jays had tons of opportunities to increase their RISP, but three double plays cost them dearly. By the time the game reached the bottom of the ninth and Schneider flew out to Colton Coswer, the Orioles seemed to have locked away the sure 4-2 win. However, the Blue Jays had other plans.

https://twitter.com/thejaysnation/status/1966983358074036655

When Daulton Varsho came up to the plate following Schneider, he tried something he hadn’t really done often this season: he bunted for a base hit. Putting the ball in play has been Toronto’s strength, and thanks to Keegan Akin's wild throw to first, Varsho ended up on second base. Following Varsho, Clement, Loperfido and Giménez managed to generate base hits off new reliever Yennier Cano to tie up the game at 4-4. Manager John Schneider had deployed Alejandro Kirk in the eighth inning to pinch hit for Lukes, and the Jays catcher found himself in a walkoff position in the next frame. Kirk would drive the ball deep to centre field, and with Loperfido on third base, he came into score. Just like that, the Blue Jays erased the four-run deficit to take the win.

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<h2><strong>PRESENTED BY 6IX INNING STRETCH PODCAST</strong></h2>
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Love baseball? Don’t miss The 6ix Inning Stretch — the brand new podcast from The Nation Network, presented by Betway. Hosted by Toronto sports reporter Lindsay Dunn and 3-time MLB All-Star Whit Merrifield, this weekly show delivers insider stories, unfiltered Jays talk, player interviews, and expert analysis from around the majors. New episodes drop every Wednesday — listen on your favourite podcast platform or watch on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@bluejaysnationdotcom" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/@bluejaysnationdotcom&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1752618160475000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0OzeJ9qt2a5kxzVjmdwaEg">Bluejaysnation YouTube channel.</a>

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