Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider reacted after his team won a key series against the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday afternoon.
The Blue Jays lost 6-1 in the series opener on Tuesday, but bounced back in a big way with a dominant 11-0 win in the second game on Wednesday and then a clutch 6-3 victory on Thursday.
With the victory, the Blue Jays improved to 70-71 on the season and are just 0.5 GB of the Guardians for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.
Crucially, they also won the season series against the Guardians, meaning they have the tiebreaker in the event both teams are tied for the final Wild Card spot at the season’s end.
John Schneider Reacts
Speaking to reporters following the Blue Jays’ big win on Thursday against Cleveland, Schneider shared his reaction to Toronto picking up a massive win over a Wild Card rival.
“We had a tough first game here, then I loved the way we bounced back. They’re a good team and it’s always scrappy, it’s always tough all the way down to the end. I think it sets us up to try to do it again (this weekend against the Royals) in Kansas City. I like the way we’re playing right now,” Schneider said (via MLB.com).
Blue Jays Already Moving On to Next Task
The Blue Jays now head to Kansas City and will look to take care of the Royals on the road after they lost a series at home last week.
“It’s nice to win this series (against Cleveland), but we’ve got to turn the page and try to do it again against a team that just played us really tough at home. Every day is a new challenge. You’ve got to take the good from this series, move on and try to stack some more good days together,” Schneider said.
Right now, Toronto is tied with the Texas Rangers at 0.5 GB of the Guardians, but the Rangers have the tiebreaker against the Blue Jays, meaning every win is critical for Toronto right now, so a series win in KC is crucial.
John Schneider Reacts After Blue Jays Win Guardians Series