TORONTO — In a season of a million moments, Daulton Varsho just gave the Blue Jays their brightest one yet.
Varshoâ€s grand slam in Thursday nightâ€s 6-1 win over the Red Sox was an electric shock to the heart of the Blue Jays, the biggest swing weâ€ve seen in a dream season thatâ€s spent the past week flirting with nightmares.
Nothing will change in the American League East standings with the Yankees also winning — although the AL East champ is now assured of a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the AL Division Series — but it feels like everything has. A New York win leaves it tied with Toronto atop the division, but suddenly, the Blue Jays†tiebreaker advantage feels like enough. This team had just watched its five-game lead disappear with a downright dreadful run of baseball, but all it has needed is a moment like this one to change the conversation from what could go wrong to what could go right again.
“Iâ€ve been saying for a few days that [it] takes a swing, takes an inning. Thatâ€s it,†Schneider said. “Varsho was due for a homer. It feels like heâ€s homered every 10 at-bats since heâ€s been back here. Thatâ€s a huge, huge swing.â€
The scene captured Varsho so well: the beloved, bashful younger brother to everyone in the Blue Jays†clubhouse. There was no bat flip, no skip up the first-base line, no heroic howl into the night air as the Rogers Centre roof creaked to a close above him. If you stood an inch from your TV screen and squinted at just the right time, you might have seen a quick smile sneak through, but thatâ€s as much as Varsho will give you.
From the crowd came the loudest roar of the season, such a cathartic moment for a fan base thatâ€s just lived through such a taxing, anxious week. It felt like the ball even hung up in the air a little longer to watch its own flight, the entire stadium holding its real explosion for the moment the ball crashed down into the visitors†bullpen.
“Excitement,†Varsho said, finally allowing himself a grin. “It felt like that was just taking the monkey off our back a little bit with the past couple of days, with everybody having that pressure and feeling. Today? Letâ€s go. Just play our game, have fun and enjoy it.â€
Varsho isnâ€t the most outspoken player in the clubhouse, but when he speaks, everyone listens. Earlier in the day, he found hitting coach David Popkins and had something to say.
“A lot of people didnâ€t pick us to win the division,†Varsho told Popkins. “We exceeded everybodyâ€s standards. Now that everybody is holding us to that standard, weâ€ve got to win the division. And itâ€s like, screw it. We already have house money. Letâ€s keep going, and letâ€s play the way weâ€ve always played.â€
The weight of this week has been felt by everyone, from the coaching staff to the players and everyone who brushes up against them. The ride hasnâ€t been smooth and the road hasnâ€t been straight, but where else would you rather be?
“This is fun. This is why we do it,†Schneider said. “This is why everyone in this organization does it. This is why guys sign here. This is why we make the sacrifices we make, and if you approach it that way, I think thereâ€s some freedom in that. Is it hard? Yeah, itâ€s hard, but [shoot], itâ€s fun.â€
For a time, it even looked like Varshoâ€s moment would be upstaged. The Blue Jays carried a combined perfect game into the seventh inning — something thatâ€s never been done to completion in MLB history — before the Red Sox finally broke up their bid at history. Louis Varland, Eric Lauer and Yariel RodrÃguez combined to give Toronto its best “start†of the season, coming together to practically demand that this teamâ€s offense make something happen.
In a split-second, with one swing, Varsho did what everyone on this roster has spent the past week trying to do.
Before that swing, it felt like the Blue Jays were stuck as passengers in the AL East. After it, they were driving again.
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