It was a very rough journey through the AL East that landed the Blue Jays in 5th place in that terrible, awful horrifying division.

There is no question the Jays didn’t play well, mostly owing to the fact that they couldn’t hit and left thousands on base.

Easily the most satisfying part was putting up a 20-spot on the Rays, a team that basically doesn’t lose at home in 2023. The Rays are the best team in baseball and the Blue Jays absolutely destroyed them for a game.

And some in the media said that one game didn’t mean much and that the Blue Jays were still trying to find themselves. That is true, and thank you for removing any joy one might find in the 20-spot, but it is important to remember that José Berríos held the potent Rays’ offence to one run over seven innings. The Rays’ pitching was a mess, but that doesn’t diminish the good work. A win is a win. There is no asterisk.

When things when really sideways, the Rays, as is tradition, put in position players to save their bullpen. It wasn’t pretty. Slugger Luke Raley did, however, manage to strike Vlad Jr. out and got a present for his effort.

Guerrero got a present of his own later that inning when he strolled up, sans batting gloves, and launched a Grand Slam into the night.

The Twins were a relief. The Blue Jays probably could have/should have swept that series because they were playing better and the palpable relief of getting out of the AL East beastliness helped.

The one loss featured Bassitt giving up the go-ahead home run. A homer late in the start often means the starter was just left in too long.

This series win, as well as the series win versus the Brewers, was, for the most part, a respite. It doesn’t solve the AL East problem, and it didn’t help to realize that both teams, with near-identical records to the Blue Jays, are leaders of their respective divisions.

Alek Manoah is still searching for whatever is evading him this season as his inability to consistently throw strikes continues. Watching him beg Schneider in the dugout to stay in the game and then sit on the bench with what looked like tears in his eyes was rough.

Kevin Gausman settled everything down today, and Bo Bichette continued his assault on baseballs everywhere.

And Kevin Kiermaier doing all the things. And the things.