Berríos up to task during playoff race

TORONTO — On Wednesday night, José Berríos found the perfect way to begin what would become his seventh consecutive quality start: striking out the side, with one punchout apiece via his curveball, changeup and sinker.

The Rogers Centre crowd of 29,601 — the largest in two years, thanks to a capacity increase for the season’s final week — responded to Berríos with a roar of approval. And with a chill in the air, the moment had October written all over it.

“Big crowd tonight,” Berríos said after his side’s 6-5 win over the Yankees. “It was fun. I enjoy it. Tonight, that game gave me a taste like a playoff game.”

Not that Berríos needed to know what a playoff game feels like — he’s had more than a taste. Berríos has thrown in three of the past four postseasons, with a start in the past two (12 innings, 3.75 ERA in total).

That’s the type of stage the Blue Jays hope to see Berríos on next week, and he’s doing his part to help push them there. He took a perfect game into the fifth inning against the Yankees on Wednesday, and now Berríos has a 2.93 ERA in seven outings since Aug. 29. He has pitched into or through the sixth inning in all of those.

Between his time in Minnesota and Toronto this season, Berríos leads the American League in innings pitched (192). He’s not slowing down, though. The thrill of a playoff race energizes him.

“I’ve been in this situation before: ’17, ’19 and ’20,” he said. “But I was like a young kid enjoying these games every time. … This group is special, and we can do a lot of good things out there.”

Bo Knows Defense
One consequence of Bo Bichette’s excellent month at the plate is that it’s overshadowing his strides on defense. The shortstop, whose two-homer game on Wednesday included the game-winner, is as confident with his glove right now as he is with his bat — and that hasn’t been the case throughout the season. 

“I worked really hard to go out there and be consistent,” Bichette said. “I think you can only get better by learning from your failures, and I’ve definitely had quite a few of them.” 

This season, Bichette ranks last among 21 qualified shortstops in FanGraphs’ Ultimate Zone Rating (-6.1). But he’s error-free in his past 16 games, and his Outs Above Average in September (1) is far superior to his season-long total (-5). 

The 23-year-old also has a .336/.360/.570 slash line with 20 RBIs in 27 games this month. He creates plenty of value on offense, no doubt. But if his defensive improvements keep up, he could rise to be one of the game’s most dangerously well-rounded players. 

“This guy’s going to be one of the best players in baseball,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “You’ll see. Toronto has two kids that are going to be two of the best players in baseball for the next 10 years in Bo Bichette and Vlad Guerrero.”

Semien relishes raucous atmosphere
Earlier this year, when the Blue Jays called Dunedin, Fla.’s TD Ballpark their home, Marcus Semien was not shy about his preference for playing on the road. 

“I’ve enjoyed being on the road this year, actually, just because we’re playing in big league stadiums,” Semien said in May. “I think a lot of us wish we were in a big league ballpark.” 

The Blue Jays had to make a two-month pit stop at Buffalo, N.Y.’s Sahlen Field first, but they did eventually get back to Rogers Centre.  

And with their largest crowd of the season on hand Wednesday, Semien finally got to see what an excited Toronto crowd looks and sounds like. 

“I think playing in front of 15,000 most of these two months, I feel like the energy was there,” Semien said, referencing Rogers Centre’s initial capacity limit. “Now you double [the capacity], and you put playoff implications on it, I think it’s amazing. I come from a place in Oakland where I didn’t get a chance to play in front of huge crowds all the time, so being part of that is awesome.”