At the end of July, Toronto Blue Jays’ manager John Schneider said the entire clubhouse adopted a new mentality of accountability and selflessness after a tough year in 2024. Coming into this year, they focused on what they needed to do to help the team win every day.

That method has gotten them far, despite some nail-biting moments around clinching the AL East. Good things happened to those who do whatever they can for the team, and that’s exactly what happened when the Blue Jays absolutely crushed the New York Yankees on Saturday to win their first playoff game since 2016.

Entering the fierce ALDS, hardly anyone paid attention to the Blue Jays, in light of the Yankees’ stunning performance against the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series. Many bought into the Yankees’ supremacy with their gaudy team home run record and the names in their rotation and lineup.

What many people overlooked was Toronto’s ability to relentlessly torture pitchers with one of the lowest strikeout rates in the league. Such was the team’s recipe for winning games for the 2025 season, and that approach wasn’t going to change during the ALDS.

Everyone in the lineup contributed to all 10 runs scored on Saturday evening. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk opened the game with solo home runs in the first and second innings to shift the momentum in Toronto’s favour. Although the team’s bats remained quiet until the bottom of the seventh, Andrés Giménez broke the scoreless inning streak with a single after Daulton Varsho and Anthony Santander (Myles Straw pinch ran in his place) got on base. Later, Ernie Clement bunted to move the runners up, George Springer walked, and Nathan Lukes doubled to bring up the Jays’ lead from 3-1 to 5-1. The scoring didn’t stop there, with the Blue Jays’ lineup consistently tormenting New York’s reliever Paul Blackburn in the bottom of the eighth to eventually bump up the score to 10-1. Let’s not forget Kirk’s second home run, which made it look all too easy.

By the end of Game 1, the Blue Jays collected 14 hits, which was eight more than what New York hitters generated. Toronto’s offence also successfully forced out starter Luis Gil by the bottom of the third inning and faced five different relievers afterwards. This unrelenting offence gassed out the Yankees’ arms early on the series, showing why the Blue Jays’ offensive approach shouldn’t be underestimated by any means.

Toronto’s pitching shouldn’t go unnoticed because ace starter Kevin Gausman got his job done, even in a precarious bases-loaded jam at the top of the sixth inning. Gausman walked in a run after striking out Aaron Judge, but getting Ben Rice to pop out helped reliever Louis Varland strike out mighty Giancarlo Stanton with his eye-popping 101.7 mph pitch. Outside of the top of the sixth crisis, the Blue Jays’ bullpen didn’t give up a single run. They choked the Yankees and gave false hope here and there, which held New York to only one run.

The Blue Jays’ ability to pick each other up beat their playoff curse and won them their first playoff game in the 2020s. There wasn’t just one hero in this game – everyone pitched into this win, with only two strikeouts in 40 plate appearances and giving up only one run to the Yankees. Game 1 was the ultimate display of what Toronto’s selfless baseball looked like and how that gave them the way to stump its rival.

According to Sarah Langs of MLB, teams to win Game 1 in any best-of-five series have gone on to win the series 113 of 156 times (72.4%), which gives the Blue Jays the confidence to win the ALDS. However, the Yankees are still a formidable team that can come back at any time. Just look at how they overtook the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series. As shaky as the Yankees are, they are still the team that punched the World Series ticket only a year ago – they shouldn’t be underestimated at any point.

The mission is crystal clear: win today. That mentality shouldn’t change as the Blue Jays head into their second home game with rookie Trey Yesavage on the mound. It’s an unnerving but worthy gamble because the Blue Jays already know how they have to play their game.

There will be harsh trials in this ALDS. Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Max Fried, Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, Carlos Rodón, Anthony Volpe, and Giancarlo Stanton will put up a fight to keep New York in contention throughout this five-game series. But if the Blue Jays keep bringing the next man up without making the moment too big for themselves, they may have something incredible in their hands. They have the magic they need – the question now is how they are going to use it for the rest of the playoffs, however long it lasts.

This is only the beginning of the Blue Jays’ story. So, listen all you people, come gather ‘round: I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now.

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