The Toronto Blue Jays just pulled off a sweep of the Boston Red Sox, and they didn’t make it easy on themselves. After Boston tied the game in the bottom of the eighth with back-to-back homers, Toronto needed someone to step up. That someone was Brandon Valenzuela.
In the top of the ninth, Valenzuela ripped an RBI double off the Green Monster that scored the go-ahead run. The Blue Jays held on for a 4-3 win, completing the series sweep and giving themselves a much-needed boost after a shaky stretch.
The Blue Jays are now 37-38, still stuck in third place in the AL East. But this series showed they can hang with a division rival when it counts. Boston had the momentum late, and Toronto answered.
The tying frame that almost broke them
The Red Sox looked dead in the water heading into the bottom of the eighth. Then they went deep twice in a row. Just like that, a 3-2 Blue Jays lead turned into a 3-3 tie, and Fenway Park was loud again. But Toronto’s bullpen locked it down after that, and the offense got the job done one inning later.
It wasn’t pretty. But it was a win, and in June those count the same as the ones in September.
A former teammate says goodbye
The Blue Jays made a roster move earlier this week, sending catcher Tyler Heineman to the Los Angeles Angels. Heineman spent parts of five years with the organization, though not always in one stretch. He was traded away, claimed off waivers by other teams, and brought back. Multiple times.
After the deal went through, Heineman posted a goodbye message that was pretty honest about what a weird ride it’s been.
“These past five years have been nothing short of incredible,” Heineman wrote. “From being a Blue Jay, to getting traded to the Pirates, to getting claimed again by the Jays, to getting claimed by the Red Sox, to once again get claimed by the Jays all in the span of three years was CRAZY! But every time I came back, I loved it more and more.”
In his time with Toronto, Heineman hit .242 with four homers and 30 RBIs. He had three of those homers and 20 of those RBIs last season. Not huge numbers, but the guy clearly meant something to the clubhouse.
For now, the Blue Jays will take the sweep and try to build on it. They’ve got a long way to go in a tough division, but a weekend like this can change the feel of a season pretty fast.
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