BEASTS OF THE EAST
Jays clinch division; now aim for overall AL title
BALTIMORE — American League East Division champs — has a nice ring about it, no?
The Blue Jays, who clinched a postseason berth over the weekend, nailed down their primary goal of bringing home their sixth AL East pennant Wednesday afternoon by crushing the Baltimore Orioles 15-2 in the first game of a doubleheader in front of a sparse crowd that contained just as many blue jerseys as orange and made decidedly more noise including a chant of “Thank you Alex” in the ninth.
With the final out, the Jays piled out onto the field and mobbed reliever LaTroy Hawkins.
As for a post-game locker-room celebration, that was put on hold until the second game of the day was completed.
In the coming days, the Jays still have much to play for, even though they rested their regulars in the nightcap and plan to give them the day off Thursday, too.
The No. 1 seed in the AL remains in their hands and they would very much like to keep it that way and finish ahead of Kansas City.
Under that scenario, the Jays would be playing the winner of Tuesday’s wild-card game.
After the clincher was over, winning pitcher Marcus Stroman was still sky high. It’s been a magical ride for the Duke graduate who went from missing the opening 5½ months of the season because of a freak knee injury to pitching in the division-clinching game.
Stroman was terrific, holding the Orioles to one run on five hits over eight innings.
“It still feels like a dream, to be honest with you,” Stroman said.
“How everything played out from the beginning of this season and being in this position to help my team clinch, it’s been a journey, it’s been a special ride.
“I’m just thankful for everybody who helped me get to this point.”
He was asked what it’s like in the clubhouse with his teammates having clinched and having to get ready for the second game of the doubleheader.
“Everyone’s elated, everyone’s ecstatic. But like you said, we have 30 minutes in between games so we kind of have to lock it back in quickly. I’m sure there’ll be a celebration post-game.” On that. there was no doubt. At no time during his rehab postsurgery did Stroman not think he’d be back with the Blue Jays this season.
“I had this in the back of my head,” he said.
“That’s kind of what kept me going, to be in this position where I could come back and pitch in meaningful games for my team. I kept good faith the entire way and it played out perfectly. I’m just blessed and lucky to be in this position.
“It was never just getting back. I knew if I got back and my knee was ready to go, I knew that I’d be able to pitch in pretty big games and I knew my stuff would be where it would be and I knew I could be in midseason form to where I was last year.”
Stroman was just a baby in the glory days of the 1992 and ’93 World Series teams, but is now part of a team that has the talent and drive to win a third World Series.
“I was one year old in 1992 and I was two in ’93, so I don’t remember any of that. But I realize that it’s been a pretty long playoff drought and this city has been dying for one and I’m just excited the guys could bring it to them. This team we have … we’re a motivated, hungry group and we’re not settling. We’ve definitely got our eyes set on bigger and better things.”
Manager John Gibbons has been proud of the way his boys have played all season, from the first game to No. 157 Wednesday afternoon. What’s he been most proud of? “Just the way they approach it every day,” said Gibbons, now in his seventh season overall as the Jays manager and third in his second term. “They just keep coming at you. Things don’t get them down. There’s no question it’s a very talented group, but they have that winning mentality too. Really, they don’t let up, they didn’t let up all year, good or bad. But there’s no substitute for talent, either.”
Looking back from when he was here the first time, Gibbons was asked in what areas does he believe the organization has progressed the most.
“Better players, and more of them. For a lot of that stretch — when I’ve been here anyway — it’s always the Yankees-Red Sox heads above everybody else. Those were the two teams that were battling it out there at the end. This year, the difference is amazing, we added some top-notch players that put us in this spot.”
And what of adding so-called character players such as Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin?
“The character end of it for me is you’ve got guys that just keep pushing, keep pushing. It’s not necessarily that they’re better guys, they just have a different mentality. I think it’s (character) definitely a factor but there’s more talent in there, too.”
After Tuesday’s result in the Bronx, when the Yankees lost to the Red Sox, the Jays knew they needed just one more win to seal the deal.
They came through in style.