Red-hot Blue Jays ahead by three in AL East after Addison Barger's 11th-inning walkoff single

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Max Scherzer’s fourth start as a Blue Jay was a mixed bag.

There were times against the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Saturday afternoon when he was near-perfect and others when the veteran and future Hall of Famer lacked control.

Say what one will of the right-hander’s four-inning outing, but Scherzer did leave the game with the Blue Jays ahead by run, an edge they would lose a few innings later — depriving him of his first Toronto win —  before rescuing their seventh victory in a row, 4-3, in the 11th inning.

Even the out-of-town scoreboard was going the Jays’ way as both the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays lost again, leaving first-place Toronto three games up on both rivals.

As for Scherzer, in the final analysis, he did pretty much all a starter can do, though an extra inning or two from him would have been ideal, knowing the bullpen has been over-used lately, entering Saturday thin on available relievers.

Scherzer began his afternoon by hitting Angels leadoff hitter Zach Neto, then yielding two hits and a bases-loaded walk that brought in the game’s first run.

The second inning was the complete reverse for Scherzer. After throwing a first-pitch ball, he was at his absolute best by throwing nine consecutive strikes to retire the side — one pitch, in other words, short of recording the elusive immaculate inning.

His 72-pitch outing featured five hits, three walks and two earned runs while recording four strikeouts.

Scherzer’s defence helped him out, as well, throwing out a runner at the plate on one of Addison Barger’s patented missiles from right field n the first inning, before battery-mate Alejandro Kirk gunned down a runner attempting to steal second base.

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Not to be overlooked Saturday was the impressive big-league debut of Lazaro Estrada, who went four  innings, giving up only two hits — one of them a game-tying single to Nolan Schanuel in the seventh — zero walks and striking out four.

The Cuban right-hander got the first big-league batter he faced, the hot-hitting Jo Adell, to ground out, struck out veteran Jorge Soler and got slugging catcher Logan O’Hoppe to line out to third, retiring the Angels in order in the sixth inning.

The 26-year-old Estrada — called up with reliever Yimi Garcia going back on the IL — began the seventh inning by surrendering a leadoff single that would eventually come around to tie the game 3-3. But with the go-ahead run at first, he fashioned a four-pitch strikeout of Mike Trout, getting the Angels star swinging on a 94-mph fastball.

As debuts go, this was as good as it gets. Estrada retired the final seven batters he faced and 12 of 14 overall in his four-inning appearance.

Braydon Fisher relieved Estrada to start the 10th, and then the 11th, and rose to the ghost-runner challenge each time with two shutout innings.

The offence, meanwhile, couldn’t score either in the 10th, an inning when a perplexed Leo Jimenez was called out on a time-count violation for not being in the batters box with eight seconds left before the pitch.

But the Jays atoned in the 11th.

It began with a bunt single by Nathan Lukes that sent Myles Straw to third.

Up stepped the torrid George Springer, whose two-run homer in the third inning had given the Jays a 3-2 lead. He worked a full count before smoking a liner to second that was caught by Kevin Newman for the first out.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., was walked intentionally to load the bases, but Bo Bichette struck out by chasing a third strike that was well off the plate.

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That left things in the hands of Barger, who had plated the first Jays run with a first-inning single. And the kid came through again, pulling a ball into right field for the winning run.

One plate appearance earlier, a disgusted Barger broke his bat over his knee — on the second attempt — after striking out to end the ninth.

SPRINGING TO LIFE

All in all, no matter which names appear on the manager John Schneider’s starting lineup, everyone at one point or another has stepped and contributed, which is never a bad thing and certainly one of the reasons why the club has been able to produce runs of late.

When Anthony Santander and Daulton Varsho eventually return, assuming there’s no other injury to contend with, the Jays’ lineup will get even deeper.

The way Springer has been raking, it doesn’t matter where he’s hitting in the lineup. He’s been as lethal as anyone in the AL, which includes the likes of Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh.

When he went deep Saturday, it was Springer’s his fifth home run in five games, a stretch that has seen him knock in 13 runs. On the season, he has 16 longballs and 53 RBIs, both club highs.

For the entire 2024 season, Springer recorded 19 home runs and 56 RBIs.

To put his recent run of power into context, consider that the former World Series MVP had eight homers in the second half of last season. He’s matched that total in the past month.

AROUND THE BASES

The Jays once again rejigged their lineup, a look that had Lukes hit leadoff while starting in centre field. Given his ability to make contact, the move seemed logical … Bichette, who normally is slotted in the leadoff hole, batted cleanup for the second game in a row after he missed the Yankees series, save for a late-game pinch-hit duty in the finale … A foot issue didn’t allow Guerrero to be in the starting lineup Friday, but he was back Saturday and in the No. 3 hole, while serving as the DH … The announced crowd at the Rogers Centre  was 37,269 as the summer baseball buzz continues.