Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider thanked the baseball gods for the team’s recent hot streak as they continue to climb the standings.
Don’t look now, but the Blue Jays are just 2 GB behind the Texas Rangers for the third and final American League Wild Card spot. Given that Toronto looked to be dead in the water just a few weeks ago — which led to the team having a hybrid trade deadline where they both bought and sold — seeing the team’s turnaround in recent weeks has been awesome to see for Blue Jays fans everywhere, who are once again watching a team that is giving its all every single night.
They’ve also gotten a bit fortunate at times, such as during Wednesday’s 6-4 win over the Boston Red Sox, when Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras dropped a routine foul pop-up. The error directly led to a huge bottom of the eighth inning for the Blue Jays and a third straight win in their four-game series. Toronto now has a chance on Thursday afternoon to sweep away the Red Sox and get even closer to the final AL Wild Card spot.
If that happens, Schneider wants the baseball gods to know he’s thankful for them.
John Schneider Thanks the Baseball Gods
Speaking to Blue Jays reporters following the team’s big win on Wednesday night over Boston, Schneider made sure the baseball gods know that he appreciates them watching over Toronto.
“Maybe the baseball gods are changing their mind about us after about 10 months, you never know. I think (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) actually tagged, so you’re sitting there thinking you got a runner at third with less than two with (Andres Gimenez) coming, and (Kazuma Okamoto) made them pay. You’ve got to take advantage of mistakes. It seems like maybe a month ago, a couple of weeks ago, that ball would have been fair, it would have been infield fly rule. But from me to the baseball gods, thanks, keep it coming,” Schneider said.
Toronto Can Still Make Playoffs
Given Toronto’s struggles for most of this season, the fact that the team has been looking so much improved since the trade deadline is a real positive sign as the season starts to wind down.
With exactly 40 games left in the season, the Blue Jays have a 59-63 record, which obviously isn’t the record that the team thought they would have before the season, given that they made it to Game 7 of the World Series last year, nearly taking out the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers in an upset.
But even with a poor first two-thirds of the season, Toronto has come on really strong during the stretch run when it matters most. If the team can somehow sneak into the playoffs, they would be one of the most dangerous teams in the postseason field, given they are a team that has a ton of recent playoff experience, but also given that they are essentially playing with house money since nearly everyone was counting them out. Nearly everyone, that is, except for the baseball gods.
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