Blue Jays are trying to improve in one area that may have cost them the World Series

The Toronto Blue Jays were two outs away from winning their first World Series since 1993. However, a Miguel Rojas solo home run off Jeff Hoffman tied Game 7 and sent it to extra innings. It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though, because the Blue Jays had a chance to win the championship in the bottom of the ninth inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa pinch ran for Bo Bichette at third base, and the Dodgers Yoshinobu Yamamoto came in to pitch with runners on first and third.

The Dodgers pitcher would hit Alejandro Kirk with his second pitch, loading the bases with one out and Daulton Varsho coming up to bat. With a 1-2 count, Varsho hit a ground ball to Rojas at second base. He fielded the ball off to his right side and, popping up off one knee, threw Kiner-Falefa out at home plate. Even though the infield was playing in to cut the run off at the plate, it still seemed the Blue Jays runner had time to score.

Looking back at the play, IKF's base running was horrible. First off, he was only a step off third base. Normally, runners can get two or three steps off the base. It's even easier for the 30-year-old to get a comfortable lead because he can see Max Muncy out of the corner of his eye with Muncy on the infield grass. So Kiner-Falefa could have seen if a pick-off play was coming.

Secondly, Kiner-Falefa's secondary lead was two small strides, which barely extended his lead. There's the understanding for the team wanting to keep runners close to the bases to avoid getting double-upped on a line drive, however the World Series was on the line, and every inch counts. This scenario played out with Kiner-Falefa ending up a step short during the play at the plate.

A decent secondary lead and the Blue Jays are lifting the Commissioner's Trophy, something former Blue Jays coach Don Mattingly discussed and says the blame certainly is on the coaching staff for not relaying that information to Kiner-Falefa.

How can the Blue Jays improve in the one area that may have cost them the World Series?

Poor baserunning didn't only happen in Game 7. In Game 3 of a tied series, the game went 18 stressful innings. At the top of the 10th inning, there were two outs in a 5-5 tied game. Ty France hit a single to right field, and afterwards was replaced by Davis Schneider on first base. Next up, Nathan Lukes hit a line drive into the right field corner.

Schneider was heading to third base when he was sent home by third base coach Carlos Febles. The Dodgers' right fielder, Teoscar Hernández, who has a cannon for an arm, and along with cutoff man Tommy Edman, threw Schneider out at home by a mile.

Playing the "what if" game, the Blue Jays had Vladimir Guerrero Jr. coming up to the plate. Although with an open base, he'd have likely been walked. Leaving Kiner-Falefa to come to the plate with bases loaded after replacing Bichette early in the game.

With a focus on improving their baserunning, two of the Blue Jays' top prospects are showing their value. In the bottom of the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in a Spring Training game, Toronto held the lead 6-5 with Josh Kasevich at first and RJ Schreck at third.

On the 1-2 count and two outs, Kasevich would attempt to steal second base. The Phillies' catcher, Paul McIntosh, threw down to second, but second baseman Christian Cairo would cut it off in front of the base. As McIntosh released the ball, Schreck took off for home. The Blue Jays would pull off the double steal with perfection, scoring Schreck to make the score 7-5.

The aggressiveness on the bases was a good sign for Blue Jays’ fans. Though the Blue Jays have tried to be aggressive in the past, this situation was smartly done. This is just one situation, and it was against prospects, but this style of ball would be an uplift on the horrible base running that likely cost the Blue Jays their third World Series title.

This play was fun to watch, but don't get used to it. Neither prospect is expected to break camp with the big-league team, but fans will likely hear their names later in the season. No one looks like they'll steal as many bases this season, as only two players are projected to steal more than 10 bases: George Springer and Andrés Giménez. This Blue Jays team is built more on the excitement of the long ball than running on the basepaths.