Blue Jays face Dodgers next as quest to conquer MLB’s best continues

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From mile high to sea level, the journey from Game 116 to Game 117 is more than just a change in altitude for the Blue Jays.

Yes, following a Southern California off day on Thursday to relish in teeing off on the Colorado Rockies for three days prior, it’s a tough (and compelling) three-game weekend series against the World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers that’s up next for the Jays.

While the challenge ratchets up significantly, a confident group of Jays has no reason to apologize for rediscovering their stroke and offensive flair in the thin air of Denver against a miserable Rockies outfit.

Though it certainly became laughable at the end of a three-game sweep — one in which the Jays set a club record for runs (45) and MLB record for hits (63) in a three-game series — it was all business for this driven, first-place Jays team that seems to be gearing up for an important stretch run.

There isn’t a player on the Jays roster who will read too much into the bloated numbers in the Mile High City. But, at the same time, there’s no need to dismiss it either. Not every team that ventures into Coors Field does what the Blue Jays did over three dominating days. And not many in baseball have as varied an offensive attack as the Jays do when things are firing.

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So, feeling their oats, now it’s back to the serious business of competing against serious baseball teams, starting with three at historic Dodger Stadium.

There will be some who will want to suggest it’s an early World Series preview — a notion that frankly is a little much for the second week of August. But entering action Thursday, both teams were division leaders, with the Jays having the best record in the American League and the reigning champions the third-best mark in the National League.

The series itself lines up as a seriously intriguing three-game set based on pitching matchups alone.

It starts on Friday when two of the most accomplished active starting pitchers in the game — the Jays’ Max Scherzer and the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw — face each other. Next up it’s Chris Bassitt vs. Blake Snell followed by Eric Lauer against Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

In other words, Jays hitters won’t be feasting on whatever the Rockies trotted out earlier in the week.

Then there is the issue of the lineup Jays pitchers will be facing. There isn’t much room to breathe in an order that includes Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and company.

That said, one of the more impressive elements of the Jays amassing their 68-48 record is that they’ve risen to the task in some of the bigger series that they’ve played thus far. Think of a four-game sweep of the Yankees to start July and taking three of four from the Tigers later in the month.

That they’ve responded to those challenges should serve them well in the remaining seven weeks of the schedule. There will be plenty of tests along the way to both challenge the Jays’ pursuit of the top seeds in the AL and to sharpen them up for not just meaningful September baseball, but what all involved are hoping will be an impactful October.

Starting with the Dodgers, the Jays have series against the Cubs (at home next week), the NL-leading Brewers, the Yankees and the AL West-leading Astros.

And then there is the final homestand of the season, with three games each against the Red Sox and Rays, series that, at this long-range view anyway, could have huge implications for various post-season scenarios.

Along the way for the remainder of the season, the Jays don’t need to do much more than hold serve. By sweeping the Rockies and, for example, winning even one of three in L.A., would be fine. Taking two or more from the Dodgers would make for a huge trip at this time of the season and renew confidence for a big home series against the Cubs to follow.

Speaking of those home series, excitement is roaring at the downtown dome lately and the players are feeding off of it following a string of 10 consecutive home sellouts. That enthusiasm from a fan base hungry for success is only going to increase.

This week’s Rocky Mountain high was impressive, but it wasn’t an outlier. This is the best version of the Blue Jays in the Ross Atkins-Vlad Guerrero Jr.-Bo Bichette-George Springer and John Schneider era.

And, it would seem, plenty more excitement awaits.