Blue Jays Week In Review: The good, the bad and the noteworthy for May 5

While last week was another week where the Blue Jays could only play .500 baseball, there were finally some signs of progress from the Blue Jays. They went 2-1 against the Boston Red Sox and 1-2 against the Cleveland Guardians during a six-game homestand.

They're now16-18 overall and played much better baseball over the final five games of the week compared to when they went 1-8 in the nine games prior.

But Toronto showed some grit and resiliency in the middle part of the week when they overcame a 6-0 deficit to beat the Red Sox 7-6 in extra innings on Wednesday, then pulled out two more come-from -behind wins during the week.

The weekend ended on a sour note, however, as the Blue Jays lost 5-3 on Saturday after getting the Blue Jays down to their final strike. That preceded Sunday’s loss where they went 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position in a 5-4 loss.

The good, the bad and the noteworthy for May 5

The good: Offense breaking out?

Even though the Blue Jays struggled across the finish line on Sunday, they're starting to show signs of an offensive breakout. They hit three home runs in the 7-6 win over the Red Sox and four of the players in the lineup had multiple hits, including Alejandro Kirk who delivered the walk-off double.

It was his second game-winning hit within the span of a week, as he also delivered a run scoring double in the Bronx against the Yankees back on April 25. Kirk is hitting .379 over his last six games, with one home run and just three strikeouts.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was the hero the next night, as smashed an eighth inning home run to put the Blue Jays out in front in their win over the Red Sox.

On Friday, George Springer went deep in the fifth inning in Toronto’s eventual 5-3 win, and Bo Bichette led off Saturday’s game with a solo shot. The Blue Jays' hit home runs in five of the six games they played last week, which is a positive sign for a team that's been near the bottom of that category all year Toronto also scored four or more runs in four of their six contests.

The bad: Yimi’s streak is broken

Blue Jays reliever Yimi García was nearly perfect through his first 14 innings this season just about as perfect as you can be, as he allowed just six hits with 18 strikeouts. He faced 53 batters and held opponents to a .125/.208/.125 slash line, earned two saves, and, perhaps most importantly, didn't allow a single earned run.

That streak came to an end at the worst possible time over the weekend when García gave up a ninth inning grand slam to Daniel Schneemann in Toronto's 5-3 loss. García just wasn’t able to get that big strike when he needed it.

García walked two batters in the inning, both of which came back to haunt him. He recorded two strikeouts in the inning and had a 3-2 count to Bo Naylor with two outs and two runners on, but he missed inside badly. Schneemann made him pay in the next at-bat.

The Blue Jays have already had to rely on their bullpen pretty heavily this season. That usage has resulted in some success, however, as the combination of García, Jeff Hoffman, Brendon Little and Mason Fluharty have allowed just 13 earned runs in 58 2/3 innings.

The noteworthy: Above .500 vs. the American League East

The Blue Jays picked up two big wins over the Red Sox this week, running their season record to 9-7 against American League East opponents. They're 3-3 against the Orioles, 5-2 against the Red Sox, and 1-2 against the Yankees. They’ll face the Tampa Bay Rays for the first time later this month.

While they've been struggling to get above .500 on the season, it's still important to be better than .500 against your division, especially in a division where just six games separate the first-place team from the fifth-place team.

The Blue Jays were 21-31 against teams in their own division last year. The Orioles went 32-20 earning a Wild Card berth, while the division champion Yankees went 26-26.

On Deck: Going West

After an off-day Monday, the Blue Jays head out to the west coast for the first time this season as they get set to take on the Los Angeles Angels in a three-game set beginning on Tuesday. They'll then head to Seattle for a weekend series against the Mariners.

The Blue Jays were 20-12 against the AL West last season including an impressive 7-0 against the Angels and a 4-2 record against the Mariners.

That hasn't been the case so far this season. They're just 1-5 against AL West opponents a month in the season after losing 2-of-3 at home to the Mariners and getting swept by the Astros.