The Toronto Blue Jays needed a hero Wednesday night, and the club turned to Davis Schneider to get the job done.

With the club riding a losing streak and the Dodgers just a few innings away from sweeping the series, the coaching staff turned to Schneider in the bottom of the seventh inning to pinch hit for Nathan Lukes at the bottom of the order. The Dodgers brought in southpaw reliever Jack Dreyer to take over for Shohei Ohtani, and the Jays liked the righty/lefty matchup.

He battled to a full count, with Dreyer getting the early 2-2 edge, before getting a leadoff walk to set the tone for the inning. Tyler Heineman was able to move him over to second base, and George Springer brought the outfielder home on a double to the gap, cutting the Dodgers’ lead to 3-2.

Fast forward to the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Jays were tied at 3-3 and needing some late-inning magic to stave off the sweep. Schneider found himself with a bat in his hands with one out and generated another walk, making it a clean 0 for 0 on the day. The New Jersey product found himself in a scoring position following Andres Gimenez’s single, using his speed to go from first to third on the play, and then used that speed again when Gimenez stole second base and the ball skirted away from infielder Miguel Rojas, allowing him to score and give the Jays the lead (and eventual win).

For a Jays squad that is struggling to find ways to win, Schneider has been a bright light of consistency when it comes to playing the game the right way. He’s made the plays he has supposed to make, has delivered some timely hits or walks, and has taken on whatever role the club has sent his way. For a team that has made numerous defensive miscues or baserunning errors, Schneider is sticking to his game plan and is proving to be a difference maker.

It’s also one of the reasons why manager John Schneider should be putting his fellow namesake in the lineup card a bit more often.

Taking a step back, one could argue that the stats aren’t necessarily there for everyday playing time. His batting average sits at .214 (3 for 14), and his BABIP sits at .250, which aren’t the most eye-popping numbers. He’s started four games and come off the bench in four games, so his at-bats haven’t been consistent, but there are some impressive numbers under the surface this early into the season.

He’s racked up an impressive .421 OBP because of his five walks, which matches his strikeout totals for the year, and he owns a .850 OPS because of the two-run shot he launched against the Rockies in late March with his nice walk total. He’s hitting the offspeed stuff well (.348 xBA), and while he isn’t hitting the fastball as well (.141 xBA and .185 xSLG), he’s racked up a .425xwOBA because of his keen eye at the plate and the ability to take the odd walk here and there.

On a personal level, I also like to reward solid play with more time on the diamond.

Schneider was a big reason the Jays won on Wednesday night with his timely walks and key baserunning, and personally, that deserves another day in the lineup even with a right-hander in Simeon Woods-Richardson slated to toe the rubber tonight. This necessarily doesn’t matter for Schneider, who actually has better numbers against right-handed pitching compared to left-handers (even with more plate appearances against RHP), and finding bats that embrace the ‘pass the baton’ mentality the Jays have been utilizing under David Popkins just makes sense.

Do the Jays’ coaching staff turn to Jesus Sanchez or Nathan Lukes tonight instead because of the pitching handness matchup? Possibly, and I wouldn’t blame him for doing so, especially with Sanchez. But for a team that just bucked a losing streak and is looking to pocket some wins, it makes more sense from the outsider viewpoint to ride the hotter hand, and that’s Schneider in this case compared to Lukes (.105/.143/.105 with .248 OPS), hands down.

Play the guy who is providing quality at-bats and coming off a strong bench spot in the previous game.

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