Bottom of lineup keeps Blue Jays in WC hunt – MLB.com

TORONTO — Needing a win to stay afloat in an American League Wild Card race that’s growing closer and more chaotic by the hour, the very bottom of the Blue Jays’ lineup gave them another day of life.

Danny Jansen and Cavan Biggio weren’t expected to be the stars of the biggest game of the Blue Jays’ season, but each showed up at the right time in Toronto’s 6-4 win Friday night over the Orioles at Rogers Centre. For Jansen, this continues an encouraging end to the season that has seen him re-emerge as the man behind the plate. For Biggio, it’s a grand reintroduction after six months of struggling to find traction.

The win kept the Blue Jays one game back of the Red Sox, who beat the Nationals, 4-2, on Friday, for the second AL Wild Card spot. Toronto is now tied with the Mariners, who lost to the Angels, 2-1. The Yankees, who lost to the Rays, now have just a one-game lead over Boston for the top Wild Card spot.

The short version? Four teams are separated by two games with just two games remaining on the schedule. Buckle up.

Jansen got the Blue Jays rolling with a two-run home run in the third, and the 26-year-old has quietly been one of the Blue Jays’ hottest hitters through September and October. Back when Jansen hit the injured list for the second time this season on July 23, he was hitting .176 with a .595 OPS. With Alejandro Kirk on the scene and No. 1 prospect Gabriel Moreno generating waves of hype in the Minors, it was easy to dismiss Jansen, but he has earned his way back to the top of the ladder and done so admirably.

“That’s how you win games,” said manager Charlie Montoyo. “That’s how you win 90 games. That has to happen. There’s no way the top of the lineup can carry you all the time, and that’s what’s been happening this last month for sure. Lourdes Gurriel [Jr.] hitting seventh and stuff like that, but today it was [Santiago] Espinal, Biggio and Jansen.”

Biggio got the surprise start at first base with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at DH, Biggio’s first MLB game in nearly two months. Montoyo was encouraged by Biggio’s Triple-A at-bats while he worked back slowly from an elbow injury through August, but he wasn’t exactly kicking the door down. Still, there’s a reason this staff and front office continues to trust Biggio despite a long season of injuries, and he rewarded them with his biggest performance yet.

Going 3-for-4 with an RBI, some aggressive baserunning and a handful of solid plays at first base, Biggio exceeded all expectations. It’s just one game, but it’s suddenly easier to picture Biggio as part of a potential postseason roster, or at least a contributor over the final two games. With Gurriel still battling a hand injury that has stitches and Randal Grichuk struggling, Biggio could earn a few more at-bats, whether at DH, first base or a corner outfield spot late in games.

“Those two months not being able to contribute and just being around the excitement but not being a part of it, it felt like a little bit of FOMO [fear of missing out],” Biggio said. “I was coming here ready to contribute any way possible. Whether that’s getting on, trying to take an extra base like I did late … whatever I have to do to help this team win, that’s why I’m here.”

It was actually the entire bottom half of the lineup that led this win, as Espinal had a pair of hits and Corey Dickerson launched a solo home run of his own, continuing to show how valuable his left-handed bat is to this lineup. The Blue Jays are strong offensively when their star-studded top five clicks, but when the bottom half is there to complement it, that’s when this group gets scary.

Setting the stage for this was Steven Matz, who turned in one of his best outings of the season with seven-plus innings of two-run ball, striking out five. Just like Biggio and Jansen, Matz hasn’t been the star of this rotation, but he has quietly put together a very valuable season, giving the Blue Jays a 3.82 ERA and keeping their offense in plenty of games just like this one.

The Blue Jays likely still need to win out, and they may still need some help from the teams facing the Red Sox and Mariners. But they’ve given themselves another shot. If the stars don’t get it done Saturday, Friday’s win is another example of how any corner of this lineup can take over in the biggest moments.