Blue Jays secure Post-Season Berth with 6-5 Victory Over Kansas City Royals
KANSAS CITY, MO – The Toronto Blue Jays clinched a playoff berth Sunday with a 6-5 win over the Kansas City Royals, securing their place in the 2023 post-season. The victory came despite a challenging outing from starter Chad Yesavage, who allowed several hits after a dominant debut.
The Blue Jays initially built a 3-0 lead, capitalizing on a two-run single by Carter Jensen in the fourth inning – a play aided by a defensive miscue from Royals infielder Nicky Lopez, who deflected a frazier chopper allowing the bases to be loaded.
Kansas City narrowed the gap to 3-2 in the same inning. Toronto responded in the fifth with a two-run double from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., his first extra-base hit sence September 7th, followed by an RBI double from Whit Merrifield, ending a 0-for-14 skid.
The royals chipped away at the lead in the fifth and sixth, scoring RBI singles from maikel Franco and Salvador Perez, and adding another run in the sixth to make it 6-4. A controversial call in the bottom of the fifth, where a Bobby Witt Jr.liner to center field was ruled a single despite a sliding catch attempt by daulton Varsho, proved pivotal. The call stood after review, with officials determining it was possible the ball touched grass.
Toronto extended their lead in the eighth inning with an RBI single from Cullen Clement and a run-scoring triple by Santiago Espinal. Relievers Tim Mayza and Jordan Hoffman then closed out the game, preserving the 6-5 victory.
Yesavage, averaging 94.1 mph with his fastball, didn’t replicate the dominance of his debut but demonstrated composure in a high-stakes game. He noted his reliance on his slider and splitter after lacking his usual velocity. ”I tried not to worry about it too much,” Yesavage said. “It’s always a little bit in the back of my head, but I went out there and tried to perform the best for my team. Today I let the defense have more work just because I didn’t have the heater, so it was slider, splitter and they were putting a lot of balls in play. So I relied on the defence and they handled everything pretty good.”
Manager John Schneider praised the team’s selfless approach. “Selfless is the word I always use,” Schneider said. “We’ve got some big-name guys in here. Vladdy has said, ‘I’m hot when we’re winning,’ things like that. We saw this coming. We were confident in the players we had in the room and the players that we added at the deadline, too. Really cool to have them experience this.”
The Blue Jays’ post-season appearance marks a return to October baseball after a 2020 appearance and sets the stage for a competitive playoff run.
