Blue Jays pump life into playoff hopes with third straight takedown of Red Sox

Perhaps something interesting is starting to happen with the Blue Jays.

They held on to beat the Boston Red Sox 6-4 on Wednesday night and have a chance to complete a sweep when the four-game series concludes on Thursday. They’ve won five of their last six contests, 11 of their last 16 and at game’s end were just two behind in the American League wild-card playoff race.

Jose Soriano pitched six quality innings and Kazuma Okamoto drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth. Toronto is 9-3 against the Red Sox on the season, and is 7-3 overall since the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

“You can feel a shift in the momentum and vibe in the guys,” manager John Schneider said. “Everyone is kind of doing their part. It gets contagious and that’s a good thing. It takes everyone.”

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The game was tied 1-1 in the eighth inning when the Blue Jays erupted for five runs.

With none out and runners on first and second, Boston first baseman Willson Contreras dropped a foul pop up by Okamoto. The Japanese slugger proceeded to line a single to left field that put Toronto ahead 2-1.

After that Ernie Clement walked with the bases loaded, George Springer plated a run with a sacrifice fly and Myles Straw drove in two with a double.

“I was given a second chance and I wanted to regroup,” Okamoto said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “I wanted to put the ball in play and move up the runners.”

Okamoto also doubled and scored in the second inning and walked in the sixth. His single in the eighth delivered his team-leading 13th go-ahead run batted in of the 2026 campaign.

He sat out the two previous games with a sore knee.

“I was able to focus today,” Okamoto said. “I think the time off helped.”

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In his second start since being acquired from the Los Angeles Angels, Soriano allowed only four hits and one run, a home run by Contreras in the fifth. He threw 90 pitches, 63 of which were strikes.

Tyler Rogers, who pitched one inning, picked up the win and is 2-2 on the season. After Boston scored three times in the ninth, Louis Varland came on with one out and runners on second and third and earned his 26th save in 27 chances.

Toronto had 12 hits and everyone in the starting lineup reached base. Straw, Charles McAdoo and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. each had two hits, joining Okamoto.

Max Scherzer (1-4) is scheduled to start on Thursday. The New York Yankees visit Toronto for three games beginning on Friday. And suddenly the Blue Jays are showing a bit of the fight that they did last year when they reached the World Series for the first time since 1993.

“You don’t want to bank on it but [I] definitely don’t feel like we are out of a game,” Schneider said. “The way the guys attacked that eighth inning showed a lot of character.

“Maybe the baseball gods are changing their mind about us after about 10 months. From me to the baseball gods, thanks and keep it coming.”