{"id":191738,"date":"2025-09-01T15:12:25","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T15:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/191738\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T15:12:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T15:12:25","slug":"jays-back-to-winning-ways-ahead-of-key-road-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/191738\/","title":{"rendered":"Jays back to winning ways ahead of key road trip"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>TORONTO \u2013 A defensive miscue, a couple of choppy hits and it looked like the Toronto Blue Jays were going to let another game slip between their fingers. But reliever Tommy Nance came to the mound with the bases loaded and one out, got his two outs, and turned the game around.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/70c8fc80.png\" alt=\"\" style=\"position:absolute;width:1px;height:1px\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Nance\u2019s gutsy performance in the top of the fifth gave the Blue Jays\u2019 dugout a boost, with Tyler Heineman doubling in a runner in the bottom of the inning, immediately followed by Myles Straw\u2019s two-run single as Toronto fended off the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe definitely needed to win, for sure,\u201d said Nance, who struck out Andrew Vaughn on four pitches and then induced an Isaac Collins groundout to escape the fifth inning. \u201cWe weren\u2019t necessarily crushing the ball early, and balls were just getting through and sometimes baseball is funny that way.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes that\u2019s what you need, and that\u2019s what makes baseball so great: you don\u2019t have to hit home runs all game or crush the ball. There\u2019s other ways to win and that\u2019s what I like about this team, we find a way to win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Toronto split its six-game homestand, taking two wins from the Minnesota Twins but only scratching out Sunday\u2019s win over Milwaukee in that three-game series.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRelated Videos\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: '\u2018Risk-reward could be huge:\u2019 Fans react to Blue Jays acquiring Bieber, Dominguez'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/RAFAT_PKG_WEB_PIC.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   data-\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:59<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Risk-reward could be huge:\u2019 Fans react to Blue Jays acquiring Bieber, Dominguez\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\tPrevious Video<\/p>\n<p>\t\tNext Video<\/p>\n<p>The two losses to the National League-leading Brewers \u2014 7-2 on Friday and 4-1 on Saturday \u2014 were especially disappointing as Toronto\u2019s struggling bullpen was responsible for both of them. On Sunday, however, Brendon Little, Nance (1-0), Louis Varland, Seranthony Dominguez and Jeff Hoffman came out of the bullpen for five scoreless innings after starter Max Scherzer allowed four runs in his four innings.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/national.jpg\" alt=\"For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tGet breaking National news<\/p>\n<p>For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe all know we have the ability to go out and do that every single night,\u201d said Nance. \u201cIf you look at our bullpen, we have some of the best stuff in the big leagues. I truly believe that.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it just comes down to going out and believing it and getting on a roll.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Toronto\u2019s win over Milwaukee coupled with the New York Yankees\u2019 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday maintained the Blue Jays\u2019 three-game lead in the American League East. The Detroit Tigers\u2019 5-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday kept them atop the AL, half a game better than Toronto.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery day is massive,\u201d said Straw. \u201cIt has nothing to do with the sweep.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore on Sports<br \/>\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just need to take one day at a time and try to get a dub at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Blue Jays (79-58) are hoping for a first-round bye in the AL\u2019s post-season, but to do that they need to be one of the top two teams in the league. Splitting the homestand and going 5-5 in their last 10 games has not helped their cause with one month left in the regular season.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Bassitt (11-7) gets the start on Monday as Toronto begins a three-game interleague series in Cincinnati. The Reds will counter with Hunter Greene (5-4).<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n<ul class=\"l-inlineStories__posts c-posts c-posts--inline \">\n<li class=\"c-posts__item\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11357829\/sick-days-post-covid\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/00c7bf336ca532d25ee0540c2972c0017559bde92d453b2315fb00c6ae8d2bd8.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tNumber of sick days taken by public servants growing post-COVID\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-posts__item\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11350646\/canadian-travel-destinations-2025\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1756739545_461_India-Canada-travel.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tAs Canadians travel more at home, here\u2019s where many are visiting\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Blue Jays then travel to the Bronx for a three-gamer with the Yankees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou try to win every series,\u201d said Toronto manager John Schneider. \u201cThe goal doesn\u2019t change. Every single time.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoesn\u2019t matter who you\u2019re playing, where you\u2019re playing them. The goal doesn\u2019t change. You\u2019re trying to win every single series. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>IKF BRB \u2014 Isiah Kiner-Falefa was claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates by the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon, returning the veteran infielder to Toronto.<\/p>\n<p>Kiner-Falefa played 83 games for the Blue Jays in 2024 before being sent to Pittsburgh at last year\u2019s trade deadline. He hit .264 with one home run, 35 runs batted in and 15 stolen bases in 119 games for the Pirates this season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a gamer. He\u2019s a winner,\u201d said Schneider. \u201cI think it\u2019s just bringing in a versatile, winning, grinding type of player.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt means you can be more aggressive with some pinch hits early, and then have a right-handed bat that you know can make contact, can run, and can play anywhere in the field, really.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By making the waiver claim before Sept. 1, Kiner-Falefa is eligible to play for the Blue Jays in the post-season.<\/p>\n<p>Reliever Yimi Garcia was transferred to the 60-day injured list a day after Schneider announced he would have season-ending surgery to clean up scar tissue in his throwing elbow.<\/p>\n<p>This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 31, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t&amp;copy 2025 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2013 A defensive miscue, a couple of choppy hits and it looked like the Toronto Blue Jays&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":191739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[591,22896,26245,1266,62,1290,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-191738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-blue-jays","10":"tag-blue-jays-baseball","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-toronto-blue-jays","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115129689568675047","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}