Everyday He's Hustlin': Kiermaier Sparks Blue Jays' Comeback Win

TORONTO – Saturday’s 5-2 win began with pure hustle.

In the seventh inning, Kevin Kiermaier looped in one of three hits on the day, taking a big turn around first base before settling for a single. The Jays’ speedster was hungry to advance, and after reaching second on a George Springer single, he made his move. A 3-0 count didn’t deter Kiermaier, who pumped his legs and slid headfirst for a gutsy steal of third base.

That play was crucial, as it forced the Braves to bring their infield in. Bo Bichette, a contact machine, exploited his count leverage and mashed a single to left field, breaking a 2-2 tie to give Toronto the lead. From there, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added a sacrifice fly, giving the Jays just enough of a cushion to cruise to victory.

Kiermaier was an unsung hero in this contest. The 33-year-old picked up the Blue Jays’ first hit of the ballgame – a soft groundball double – and followed that up with another two-bagger in the fifth. That second double in the fifth prompted a sequence quite similar to the seventh-inning events that led to the win. Kiermaier reached, then advanced to third before a Bichette single drove him in.

The Blue Jays stole five bases Saturday, and that aggressiveness on the bases bled into the defensive effort, much to the enjoyment of Blue Jays starter José Berríos. After a few atomically bad performances to start the 2023 season, the right-hander has rapidly turned things around. He had a 2.93 ERA in his previous five starts going into this one, but a matchup against the ominous Braves posed a chance to end that comfortable run.

With Berríos battling a staunch lineup Saturday, he needed the occasional bail-me-out play on defense. Matt Chapman had a chance on a solid grounder toward the third-base bag but whiffed on the backhand, awarding a double to Orlando Arcia.

The Arcia hit was certainly a makeable play, but the Berríos-Chapman duo made up for it. First, Chapman executed a nice sliding play at the hot corner, then Berríos struck out Austin Riley with runners on the corners and induced an easy bounce-out to end the frame.

And the Jays’ defense at its starter’s back later in the contest, too. Berríos pitched himself into another jam in the fifth, where a runners-on-the-corners scenario threatened to blow up the entire game. There, George Springer played hero, sprinting toward the foul line and selling out for a sparkling catch. Berríos loved it, Springer was fired up, and the momentum carried to the bottom half, where Toronto revved up the offense.

The Blue Jays are playing gritty and relatively mistake-free baseball this series. That’s a big deal after a depressing two-game set in Philadelphia set the club back a step. Fear not, Blue Jays fans, the energy is back. Toronto now owns an 11-3 record at Rogers Centre this year and will be gunning for the sweep Sunday.