José Soriano and Spencer Miles have become unexpected keys to Blue Jays’ playoff push

The Toronto Blue Jays’ 4-2 win over the Athletics on Tuesday night was important in the standings, but perhaps an even bigger story revolved around how the Blue Jays earned the win. Yes, Kazuma Okamoto and Josh Smith hit big back-to-back home runs but the two pitchers the Blue Jays had on the mound really deserved a ton of credit for their work.

José Soriano gave the Blue Jays seven innings of two-run ball, while Spencer Miles followed with two perfect innings and three strikeouts to finish the game. Blue Jays manager John Schneider did not need to touch the rest of his bullpen, a massive win for a team that needed to throw a bullpen game the very next day (Aug. 9). For a team trying to stay alive in the American League Wild Card race, these are the extra value wins they need that don't show up in the standings.

The combination of a starter going deep and using only one reliever to pick up the final six outs is the kind of load management MLB managers crave. It doesn't always happen, but when it does, it's an incredibly welcomed development.

The fact that it was Soriano and Miles is also a great story considering how they started their years and how much they mean to the Blue Jays' current playoff push. One began the year trying to establish himself with the Los Angeles Angels. The other was a Rule 5 pick trying to prove he belonged on a major-league roster. Now, both are helping Toronto survive the most important stretch of its season.

When the Blue Jays acquired Soriano from the Angels, they were adding a pitcher who they felt they could get more out of than the Angels were. So far, that plan has worked as Soriano has decreased his strikeout rate and has continued to work on getting hitters to pound meaningless balls into the ground.

John Schneider called Soriano's seven inning of two-run ball, "that's him at his best." If this is the version of Soriano the Blue Jays continue to get through the end of the year, it will only increase their playoff odds.

Meanwhile, Miles’ rise may be even more improbable. Rule 5 draft picks rarely stick around with their new teams for long, let alone turn into one of the most reliable players on the team. But Miles has blown past the bar of just being a useful, low-leverage arm.

Against the Athletics, Miles was trusted to get the final six outs of a two-run game because Louis Varland had been used heavily the day before. Miles responded with two clean innings for his second save of the season.

Back in December, when Toronto selected him from the Giants, the Blue Jays were betting on the small sample size they saw when Miles was healthy enough to throw in the 2025 Arizona Fall League. He pitched 8.2 innings and struck out 12 hitters, while walking only one batter.

Miles has rewarded them with that small gamble by making a career high 45 appearances, including six starts, while posting a 2.77 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 81 strikeouts against 21 walks over 87.2 innings. He also entered Wednesday having not allowed a run in his past 12 outings, giving the Blue Jays one of the clearest Rule 5 success stories in recent memory.

Blue Jays increasing their Wild Card chances thanks to performances from José Soriano and Spencer Miles

The Blue Jays’ season has been a roller coaster. Injuries, role changes and uneven performances have forced the club to find outs in some unconventional places and Soriano and Miles have become two of the best examples of how quickly a roster plan can evolve.

Neither pitcher began the year as a central piece of Toronto’s playoff hopes. But now that it's all hands on deck and the Blue Jays need as many wins as they can get, these two came through with tremendous performances.

If the Blue Jays manage to chase down a Wild Card spot, we'll look back on Tuesday's game as one of those moments that really mattered down the stretch.

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