Home Away from Home: Jays Fans Turn Seattle Blue

On Saturday night, the Toronto Blue Jays played their afternoon rubber match south of the Alberta/BC border against the AL West Division-leading Seattle Mariners. Up until this series, the Jays were coming off a 3-8 record from their most recent 11-game homestand at Rogers Centre. For many die-hard Jays fans, this homestand was circled on their calendars as a possible opportunity to turn the season around.

What any die-hard Jays fan and long-tenured Jays player knows is that three games in Seattle is as close to a home series as any road team will see in baseball. As Canada's only MLB team, the Blue Jays' fan base tends to travel very well from ballpark to ballpark. Despite all the road support throughout the season, it always plays second fiddle to the rowdy Canadian crowd that travels from all over BC and Alberta to support their Blue Birds. This type of support translates loud and clear through the broadcast, with Buck and Dan often alluding to the flocks of Blue Jays fans that overtake T- Mobile Park.

The “Let’s go Blue Jays” chants were both loud and proud all weekend in Seattle, and for good reason. These chants have been tough to come by in their own ballpark of late, but the fresh, exciting new flock of Canadians in Seattle had not experienced the first-half turmoil firsthand that Torontonians or any Ontarionites had to endure. They were like fresh-out-of-the-box Jays fans, still with that new fan smell and none of the PTSD from blown saves.

They were not nearly as scarred, or not scarred at all, by the Blue Jays' performances this year. Especially those losses where the starting pitcher delivers a quality start, or in some instances absolute shoves, and then the offense scores only three runs, and the bullpen allows just enough runs to lose. Recently, it’s been just that and then mixing in some straight-up bullpen collapses. This fresh batch of Jays fans had those pseudo home opener vibes, to the point that even the broadcast mentioned the feeling of playoff baseball. Let’s be clear, the Jays' broadcast crew is fantastic, but this was not a postseason baseball feel. For one, the Jays are eight games below .500, as of July 8th,  and it’s not even quite the halfway point in the season. But maybe, just maybe, a weekend Jays-Mariners baseball series and a sea of Western Canadians, thirsty for Blue Jays baseball, is the perfect mix to ignite a playoff-like atmosphere in an away ballpark in early July.

These crowds all series, but particularly on Friday and Saturday, were loud and locked in on their Jays all game long, and their Jays delivered some clutch on-field performances as a reward to this royal devoted fan support in a road ballpark at the beginning of a nine-game road trip prior to the All-Star Break. The “Let’s Go Blue Jays” chants on Saturday night were followed by a three-run blast by George Springer in the top of the 7th inning with one out on an 0-1 count to tie up the game. As Leo Jimenez collected his first MLB hit, and when Nate Pearson, Chad Green, and Génesis Cabrera took the mound, the crowd delivered a roar in admiration and celebration.

Possibly the crowd’s and the Jays' biggest reward did not come from one another but from the lucky bounce of a ball in the deep left-center gap off the bat of Luke Raley.

It’s rare to see an opposing team double in the gap late to take the lead in a ball game as a good thing, but in this scenario, with a guy on first and a ball hit that hard into the gap, there is only one thing stopping the go-ahead run from scoring. That one thing happened, as the ball bounced at the warning track and over the fence, resulting in a ground-rule double that advanced

Calle Raleigh to third base. Chad Green then managed to get his next two outs via the strikeout and a foul popout just onto the outfield grass. This was a gift from the baseball gods to both the Jays and their fanbase, both in attendance and at home, like I was. It's almost as if the baseball gods were saying, "Hey, Canada, we got you. Also, sorry about the Stanley Cup Finals."

We might have even heard a short “Let’s go Bo” as Bichette approached the batter's box in the 10th inning, looking to knock in Vladdy G. Jr from second. Unfortunately, Bo was unable to return the favor this time. Shortly after, Dalton Varsho picked up Bichette as teammates do, and his two-out double to right-center field was enough to score Vladdy, as he left on contact and was ultimately the winning run. That’s what baseball is about—picking up teammates in the clutch—and this was one of the first examples in a while this season that the Jays' lineup has been clutch late in ballgames. The Jays managed to close out the game like absolute professionals. These were possibly two of the best complete games the Blue Jays have collected in the last month or two.

As the Blue Jays head into their next two series before the All-Star break, they have the opportunity to build on the momentum gained in Seattle. A strong performance could keep them well within reach of a wild card spot in the AL, giving hope to fans that a playoff berth is still within their grasp.

However, if the Jays falter over the next few games, they may find themselves in a position where they need to start considering trading away assets to other contenders and playing the role of sellers at the trade deadline. This scenario might occur regardless of their performance, but for Jays fans, with no hockey and the CFL season just beginning, the Blue Jays remain one of the few things worth following in the country, alongside the Canadian Men’s Soccer Team, until their inevitable loss to Argentina. 

Whether they emerge as buyers or sellers, the next few weeks will be crucial in determining the trajectory of the season. All Jays fans can do is watch, hope, and continue to cheer on their team, embracing every moment of excitement and anticipation that baseball brings.