Alejandro Kirk does it all as Blue Jays win comeback thriller to open series against Texas

It took a while, but the Toronto Blue Jays eventually gave another sellout crowd something to get up and cheer for.

Unable to get a sniff off resurgent Texas all-star Jacob deGrom, the Jays seemed destined to lose thanks to a shaky second inning from Chris Bassitt — but catcher Alejandro Kirk and other Jays had something to say about that.

The Jays finally got to a Texas pitcher when Kirk belted a seventh-inning two-run home run over the wall in right-centre off Robert Garcia, the third Rangers hurler of the night. And though ex-Jays all-star Marcus Semien then rudely greeted Louis Varland’s first pitch in the eighth with a two-run shot of his own, the American League leaders dug deep for a gritty 6-5 comeback victory.

Trailing 5-2, the Jays started the bottom of the eighth inning with three consecutive singles, including one after a tremendous at-bat by Bo Bichette, who drove in a run after fouling off four pitches by Danny Coulombe who, like Varland, had superb numbers coming in.

The Rangers then made a pitching change, calling on Phil Maton to face Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But Toronto’s superstar drew a full-count walk to load the bases, still with no outs. After Addison Barger struck out, Daulton Varsho walked to make it 5-4 before Kirk plated two more with a single.

Closer Jeff Hoffman then got the crowd roaring again by striking out the first two Rangers in the ninth before erasing the last batter of the game on three pitches to cap the improbable comeback. Hoffman has now struck out the past six batters he’s faced in earning back-to-back saves.

“There’s zero quit in these guys,” said manager John Schneider after the game.

“They kind of look forward to the challenge at this point. It’s fun to be a part of, it’s fun to watch them operate. And, you know, it’s, it’s a really, really good atmosphere here.

“It’s loud, man. It’s definitely an advantage playing here and it gets louder every night.”

It was a bit quieter earlier. Despite having baseball’s best offence since early May, Toronto’s hitters had been struggling so far in August — other than a laugher of a series in mile-high Colorado. The Jays managed only two hits and did not draw a walk in five innings against deGrom. Bassitt had actually been a perfect 8-0 at home with a 2.56 ERA, far better than his road numbers, and other than the second inning, when he allowed three hard-hit balls, including the home run by No. 9 hitter Kyle Higashioka, was strong (he allowed just two walks and one hit in his other four innings).

Bassitt echoed Schneider’s thoughts about the depth and resolve of the team.

“It’s just no panic, just because it’s not really one guy ever doing the job,” Bassitt said. “Give a lot of credit to a lot more than nine guys on our team that just don’t quit.”

Kirk added the first stolen base of his career for good measure in the eighth, which had his teammates howling. With Varsho already on third, Kirk did not even draw a throw to second.

Guerrero picked up the base and presented it to Kirk, who told us afterward he was going to put it “definitely in my house.”

Kirk added that he looked at first base coach Mark Budzinski “like, ‘are you serious,’” when he saw the call to steal.

The Jays definitely stole one Friday in more ways than one.