The Toronto Blue Jays were completely embarrassed by the Texas Rangers in a four-game sweep last week, but the team got back in the win column against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.
The Jays blanked their AL East rivals 3-0 after getting outscored 35-9 by the Rangers in a series that pushed Toronto out of a playoff spot.
A big part of the bounce-back performance was a phenomenal outing from starting pitcher Jose Berrios, who hurled seven innings of five-hit, shutout ball. He struck out eight and didn't walk a single batter in an absolutely crucial win in front of 35,680 fans at the Rogers Centre.
“It was huge,” Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said of his pitcher's outing, according to The Athletic's Kaitlyn McGrath. “Especially when you're coming from a series the way we had with Texas. He came in and gave everything he got and then lifted the team.”
Berrios said afterwards that his fastball command was “well-executed” and that “tonight was one of those nights you have everything working and you're using it in your favour.”
That certainly seemed to be the case for the 29-year-old, who was completely locked in on the mound.
“That's a tough lineup to navigate with all the lefties, too,” Jays manager John Schneider said. “He was executing at a really, really high level. So they're all important [games], we need a really good trip for the rotation, and that start from Jose was outstanding.”
Guerrero, who has at times struggled mightily this season, crushed a timely three-run home run to plate Bo Bichette and Daulton Varsho in the bottom of the third inning. The 23rd longball of the season for Guerrero was all the scoring the game would see.
“The best way to move on from a series like they just had is to leave everything in the past,” he explained through the team interpreter. “You just forget about it. It's a new day and be positive and just keep working hard.”
Despite their struggles, the Blue Jays remain just a half-game back of the final wild-card spot in the American League after losses for the Rangers and Mariners on Friday.
Toronto will look to keep the positive momentum rolling in Game 2 against the Red Sox on Saturday afternoon; first pitch is set for 3:07 p.m. ET.
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