4 key takeaways from the Blue Jays sweep over the Mets

The Toronto Blue Jays are consistently winning games and things are really beginning to look up for the boys in blue. Of course, a large losing streak could easily be on the horizon and ruin the momentum, but we're thinking happy thoughts right now.

In the past six games, the Jays have won five, including four in a row. The club just finished wrapping up a three-game sweep over the New York Mets which provided a massive boost to team morale. In such a tough AL East this season, every single win is going to count for the Jays and the fact that they're adding them up so rapidly is an encouraging sign.

Things have been going smoothly for this club pretty much ever since they held a players-only meeting that was primarily led by Matt Chapman. Since the meeting on May 25, the Blue Jays are 8-1.

Let's check out 4 key takeaways from the Blue Jays sweep over the Mets.

Mistakes on the bases need to be minimized as soon as possible.

This has been an issue all season for the Blue Jays, not even just against the Mets. Manager John Schneider had promised in Spring Training that the club would be ultra-aggressive on the bases this year, whether it be stealing bases or turning singles into doubles.

While his words have come true, it hasn't necessarily been in a positive way during the regular season.

On Saturday, Daulton Varsho was thrown out trying to steal second in the second inning before later being picked off at first by Mets starter Tylor Megill.

Later on in the same game, Cavan Biggio made a huge baserunning blunder that ultimately may have cost the Blue Jays a run down the line. While he was on third base with just one out in the inning, he attempted to score on a routine groundball to shortstop. Spoiler alert: he was easily cut down.

The errors on the bases were toned down just a tiny bit against the Mets, but it's been a rough go of it for this team. From Vladdy not hustling out of the box to Brandon Belt thinking he has 99-grade speed before easily being gunned down trying to turn a single into a double, it's been a frustrating time for Blue Jays fans as they watch their team try and tune up their collective baserunning.

The Blue Jays' bullpen is legit.

For a group that's been pretty shaky to start the season, this bullpen was utterly dominant in the three-game sweep of the Mets. While the Mets have not been performing up to their expectations heading into the season, the club still features a lineup full of threats from top to bottom.

Chris Bassitt put together one of his best outings as a Blue Jay on Friday before turning it over to the 'pen. Tim Mayza, who has quietly been one of the best relievers in the league this year, came in and struck out the final batter in the 8th inning before turning it over to Jordan Romano who slammed the door for his 14th save.

In Saturday's victory, each of Trevor Richards, Nate Pearson and Romano combined to finish out the final three innings of the contest. Richards in particular has experienced a massive turnaround on the mound, rebounding in a huge way. The right-hander has lowered his ERA From 5.14 to 3.24 in just under a month of games.

Sunday was the only game of the series in which any relief pitchers allowed a run. Pearson surrendered two home runs in his inning of work before turning it over to Adam Cimber, Erik Swanson and Romano, who combined to throw three shutout innings to round things out.

At times this year, the Blue Jays bullpen has been about as reliable as Alek Manoah has been on the mound. In case you haven't been following along closely, that is not very reliable ... at all.

Most of the arms in the 'pen have done a great job at limiting excess baserunners, especially lately. Romano and Swanson have been an absolutely perfect duo at the back end of the group, while Mayza, Pearson and Richards are all equally trustworthy arms.

Like all bullpens, there are some weak(er) links. Yimi García, Adam Cimber and Anthony Bass have all been troublesome at times but all of them have a lenghty track record of being successful at the game's highest level.

Entering the new week, Blue Jays relief pitchers now ranked 5th in the league in WHIP, K/9 and H/9, marks that should only get better as the season rolls on and the winning ways continue.

The Blue Jays have four solid starting pitchers and one massive weak link.

This is nothing that hasn't already been said, but it once again rang true after the sweep in New York. Each of the four non-Alek Manoah hurlers did an effective job of not only keeping the Mets to minimal damage on the scoreboard, but keeping the Blue Jays offense firmly in the game.

What is even better for the Jays is the fact that they sent out the bottom three starters in their rotation and still came out on top.

In the first game on Friday, Chris Bassitt, who was just 48 or so hours away from becoming a dad for the second time, was utterly dominant. The right-hander is ever-so-quietly becoming one of the best starters in the Blue Jays' organization and he doubled down on that on Friday. In 7.2 innings, he allowed just three hits and no runs with eight strikeouts. On the season, he is 6-4 with a 3.41 ERA and 121 ERA+, striking out 65 batters with 26 walks in 74 innings.

Saturday's 2-1 victory was a bit more of a nail biter, but the Blue Jays once again found a way to come out on top. José Berríos turned in yet another impressive outing, this time going six innings with just one run allowed and six strikeouts. He is enjoying a nice bounceback season that he desperately needed. In 12 starts, he is 5-4 with a 3.66 ERA, 3.70 FIP and 112 ERA+. His strikeouts are up from last year and he's allowing nearly 2.0 hits per nine innings less than he did in last year's down season.

Finally, Sunday's 6-4 victory came thanks to a strong start by Yusei Kikuchi and a hot offensive showing by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who homered for the ninth time this year, and Brandon Belt, who hit his third. While Kikuchi's numbers may not directly reflect it on paper, he has done a great job this season at keeping the Blue Jays in the ballgame virtually every single time he takes the mound. Sure, he is still allowing way too many home runs, but a few solo homers here and there have proved to be minimal enough where it doesn't stand in the Jays' way of winning games. He is now 6-2 with a 4.40 ERA and 93 ERA+ across 12 outings and 61.1 innings this season.

We know what Kevin Gausman brings to the rotation, even if we didn't get a chance to see him over the weekend against the Mets. Alek Manoah, however, is a whole different story. After finishing in the top-three in AL Cy Young voting last year, the 25-year-old has been going through one of the toughest stretches we've seen from a starter of his caliber in recent memory. He is currently 1-6 with a 5.46 ERA, 6.27 FIP and 75 ERA+ through 12 outings.