Heading into the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday night, the Blue Jays’ chances of winning were slim against the perplexingly resilient Houston Astros. With the score at 3-1, all the Astros needed was three outs to hold Toronto winless against the AL West division leader.

The Blue Jays were undeniably in a funk. The AL East division-leading Toronto team’s lead looked ephemeral at best. The team was begging for their rivals to challenge their hard-earned supremacy.

There wasn’t much to be optimistic about, but that was until the Astros’ closer Bryan Abreu issued walks to Alejandro Kirk and Davis Schneider while giving up a hit against Ernie Clement. Coming up with bases loaded with one out, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa’s job at the plate was simple: put the ball in play. Yet, stringing together meaningful hits was nothing short of a miracle for these Blue Jays.

Then, Kiner-Falefa said, “screw that.” He swung through a pitch and scored two runs for Toronto just like that to tie the game. The game was now 3-3 in the blink of an eye. In the spirit of keeping the game more enthralling, the Astros and Blue Jays headed for the stressful 10th inning. Once a game gets this far, there are only two true outcomes: either a team scores to win it all or descends into a maddening defeat. Because Houston somehow chose the latter, the Blue Jays took full advantage of not-so-sharp Craig Kimbrel to walk it off with the score of 4-3.

The 2025 Blue Jays have never been the favourite to do anything this season. They were the paper tigers for the past few years and were supposed to be worse than in any other years. Until Toronto decided enough was enough.

The team went on a steady hot streak, posting a 16-12 record in May, 16-10 in June, and 18-8 in July. Although the Blue Jays experienced some regression starting in August, they still recorded a 15-12 record, which gave them enough room to hold onto their slim division lead. It’s not an easy task to defend the lead, and while the division race is still very much alive in the AL East, there’s no denying that the Blue Jays are a fundamentally good team that can challenge strong playoff contenders.

If their current 83-61 wasn’t enough, the Blue Jays’ offence ranks first in batting average, OBP, SLG, OPS and runs per game since June 1, according to Sportsnet. That’s what brought success in Toronto this year. Even when the team appears to be in a profound struggle, it has built up some cushion to figure things out when things aren’t going its way.

Good teams find ways to change the game. The Blue Jays may not have been the best at it for the last couple of weeks, but on Tuesday night, they proved that they are still the team that can torture their opponents on a new level. They have ground away and clawed back time after time. Sometimes, that’s a fate worse than death for rivalling teams; there’s nothing worse than a team that can pack in that many surprises and annoyance into a game.

The Blue Jays now have 43 comeback wins under their belt — that’s most in the majors. Toronto wasn’t going to win all 162 games or be completely impeccable on the field. In reality, the team focused on trying different things and looking at things from a bigger perspective. This is how they have come out on top through 144 games.

After much pent-up exasperation, Toronto let pressure unlock something in itself this year. This team is far from becoming one of the best home-run-hitting clubs or a team with a pristine pitching record. So far, the Blue Jays have been counted out every step of the way because they weren’t supposed to be this good on paper. But overlooking their tenacity would be a huge mistake, since their perseverance earned them a 99.9% playoff odds.

Toronto’s path to the playoffs won’t be easy. The pesky Tampa Bay Rays will be relentless, and the ever-resurgent Boston Red Sox won’t hand out free wins. The Blue Jays’ grit will be tested for the rest of September, and they will be challenged to prove themselves each time. But that’s the beauty of playing the role of a scrappy team – there will always be a chance to give them hell when they least expect it. That’s the kind of energy the Blue Jays will have to carry over.

So, if you don’t believe in magic, think again. These gritty Blue Jays may just change your mind.

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