The Jays beat the Cleveland Guardians to move to 0.5 games back in the race for the third and final wild card spot.
Behind some strong bullpen work and some timely hitting in the fifth inning, the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 5-3 on Thursday afternoon at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
The win has the Blue Jays at 70-71 on the season and just 0.5 games back of the Guardians for the third and final wild card spot in the American League with 21 games to play.
The Guardians led the game 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning when the Jays tied the game at 1-1, and then Toronto took the lead for good with four runs in the top of the fifth inning. The big blast came on a two-run double from Nathan Lukes that made it 3-1 at the time.
Lukes had two doubles on the day, part of a nine-hit attack.
Jose Soriano went just 4.2 innings on the mound, giving up three earned runs, but he was bailed out by Mason Fluharty, Spencer Miles, Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland, who combined for 4.1 scoreless innings in relief.
Varland made things a little dicey in the bottom of the ninth by allowing a hit and a walk, but he ultimately picked up his 32nd save of the season. His ERA is now a sparkling 1.16.
As noted by StatsCentre, Varland now has the 1.16 ERA in 69.2 innings. Among American League pitchers who have thrown 69 innings or more in a season since 1982, Varland has the seventh-lowest ERA.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Louis Varland (77) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesOnly Fernando Rodney (0.60, 2012), Dennis Eckersley (0.61, 1990), Emmanuel Clase (0.61, 2024), Blake Treinen (0.78, 2018), Wade Davis (1.00, 2014) and Koji Uehara (1.09, 2013) had lower.
It's been a great year for Varland, who only became the closer after Jeff Hoffman's struggles in the first month of the season. Hoffman was eventually traded to the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline.
Ironically, Varland was acquired from Minnesota at least year's trade deadline, serving a critical role in getting the Jays to the World Series for the first time since 1993.
He's struck out 86 batters in 69.2 innings and has a 0.99 WHIP.
Up next
The Blue Jays will be back in action on Friday night on the road at the Kansas City Royals. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET as Jameson Taillon makes his return to the rotation.
He'll be opposed by left-hander Daniel Lynch.
While the Royals are just 62-78, they've played much better of late, and they beat Toronto two-of-three just last week at Rogers Centre.
