Updating the Blue Jays' best moments in 2025: Where does Varsho's Grand Slam rank?

The Toronto Blue Jays went into Thursday's game against the Boston Red Sox with their backs up against the wall. They'd lost six of their last seven games, including the first two games of their series against the Red Sox.

The lone win in that stretch was also the only game where the Jays scored more than one run. In just over a week, the Jays' five-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East had evaporated as the Yankees had tied up the division race with Toronto. The Blue Jays' only consolation was that they hold the tiebreaker over the Yankees, having won the season series 8-5.

By the sixth inning, it was still scoreless. The Blue Jays' bullpen had combined for a perfect game so far. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reached first on an error by Trevor Story, Addison Barger walked, and Anthony Santander was hit by a pitch.

Left-handed pitcher Justin Wilson replaced starter Brayan Bello. Daulton Varsho came to the plate with the bases loaded. Down 0-2, Varsho hit a bomb to right field, for his fifth career grand slam and second in 2025.

Updating the Blue Jays' best moments in 2025: Where does Varsho's Grand Slam rank?

The crowd in the Rogers Centre erupted. It was the offensive breakthrough the Blue Jays had been looking for. Later in the inning, George Springer hit a two-run homer to make it a 6-0 game. The Blue Jays looked like themselves again and held on to win 6-1.

The Blue Jays have had no shortage of magical moments in 2025, but Varsho's grand slam on Thursday might be the best moment of their season so far. It came at a critical time for both the division race and the team's morale.

Despite their recent slide, September has seen the Blue Jays add to an ever-growing list of memorable moments in 2025. Whether or not the Blue Jays lock up their first division title in a decade, 2025 has been a season to remember.

September 21st, 8-5 win @ Kansas City Royals: The Blue Jays clinched a postseason berth with an 8-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Jays, during which they scored a total of three runs. George Springer, Guerrero, Ernie Clement, and Andres Giménez each had multi-hit games. The win also allowed the Blue Jays to hang on to a two-game lead in the AL East.

September 15th, 2-1 win (11 innings) @ Tampa Bay Rays: Trey Yesavage made history in his debut with the Blue Jays. In his first MLB start, Yesavage set a franchise record for the most strikeouts on debut with nine. That included the fourth inning, where the right-hander was one pitch shy of an immaculate inning, striking out Josh Lowe, Jake Mangum, and Nick Fortes. Over five innings, Yesavage allowed one run on three hits and two walks.

The Blue Jays trailed 1-0 heading into the eighth inning. Giménez tied the game with a sacrifice fly to drive in Ernie Clement. Braydon Fisher struck out four in extra innings while Springer drove in the winning run with an RBI single in the eleventh. It was the 47th comeback of the season for Toronto.

September 11th, 6-0 win vs. Houston Astros: Heading into the game, Kevin Gausman had been hot. He'd pitched 15 innings across his last two starts, allowing just two runs on eight hits. That Thursday afternoon, Gausman pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing two hits, one walk, and striking out nine. He threw 100 pitches, one shy of the Blue Jays' first "Maddux" since 2015. It was Gausman's first complete game since July 27, 2024 and his first complete-game shutout since June 8, 2024.

September 9th, 4-3 win (10 innings) vs. Houston Astros: Two days before Gausman's complete game, it was Tyler Heineman and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa that stole the show for the Blue Jays. Down 3-1 in the ninth, Kiner-Falefa hit a two-run single to send the game to extras.

With one out and runners on first and third in the eleventh, Tyler Heineman hit the ball to the first baseman, who threw home but not in time to catch Myles Straw. One of the biggest reasons for the Blue Jays' success in 2025 has been the production from every member of the team. Neither Heineman nor Kiner-Falefa started against Houston. Kiner-Falefa replaced Giménez as a pinch-hitter in the seventh, while Heineman replaced Alejandro Kirk as a pinch-runner in the bottom of the ninth.

August 10th, 5-4 win @ Los Angeles Dodgers: Dubbed "The Flu Game," rookie reliever Mason Fluharty entered the game with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning. The Blue Jays were hanging onto a one-run lead over the defending World Series champions. The man in the batter's box: Shohei Ohtani. The man in the on-deck circle: Mookie Betts.

Fluharty struck out Ohtani before Betts grounded out. The Blue Jays avoided a sweep by the Dodgers with a 5-4 win. Not bad from the rookie.

The Blue Jays had trailed 3-2 in the eighth inning before Guerrero and Barger hit back-to-back solo shots to take the lead. The Dodgers tied it up in the bottom of the inning, but Clement hit a solo home run of his own to put the Jays back on top.

August 4th-6th, Sweep Colorado Rockies: In a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies, the Blue Jays set a major league record with 63 hits and a franchise record with 45 runs. The Jays outscored the Rockies 45-6 during the series. Most of the damage was done in the third game on August 6, which the Jays won 20-1, though they handily beat the Rockies 15-1 on August 4 and 10-4 on the August 5.

July 3rd, 8-5 win vs. New York Yankees: The Toronto Blue Jays completed a four-game sweep of the Yankees with an 8-5 victory to take sole possession of the AL East lead. With the game tied at three in the bottom of the fourth, Nathan Lukes fouled off nine balls before hitting an RBI double on the 14th pitch he faced. Springer went 3-4 with two home runs. It was the first time the Blue Jays had led the AL East that late in the season since September 5 of 2016.

July 1st, 12-5 win vs. New York Yankees: George Springer made Canada Day one to remember, with his 100th home run as a Blue Jay. After New York tied the game at four in the top of the seventh, Springer hit a grand slam for his second home run of the day. Springer finished the game with seven RBIs.

June 27th, 5-4 win vs. Arizona Diamondbacks: The 2025 Blue Jays have earned the nickname "Comeback Kings." Trailing 4-3 going into the ninth inning against the Diamondbacks, Bo Bichette hit a solo shot to tie the game at four. Addison Barger came to the plate next and hit a solo shot of his own to walk it off for the Blue Jays. The win snapped a three-game slide for the Blue Jays.

May 28th, 2-0 win @ Texas Rangers: A bullpen day by the Blue Jays started by giving up a leadoff single to Josh Smith. From there, however, Paxton Schultz, Eric Lauer, Braydon Fisher, Brendon Little, and Jeff Hoffman did not give up another hit.

Bichette did not start the game due to lower back soreness. He came in as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning with the game still scoreless. Bichette hit his fifth home run of the season to give the Jays a 2-0 win.

That home run for Bichette seemed to change the trajectory of his season. He had a slow start that was reminiscent of his struggles from 2024.

After that, however, he was one of the best players on the Blue Jays before suffering a knee injury on September 6, which took him out for the rest of the regular season. Despite not playing since September 6, Bichette still leads MLB in hits this season with 181.

May 22nd, 7-6 win vs. San Diego Padres: Gavin Sheets hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to tie the game at four and force extra innings. Luis Arraez then hit an RBI single in the top of the tenth to put the Padres ahead.

The Blue Jays countered with an RBI single by Jonatan Clase in the bottom of the tenth. In the eleventh, Sheets once again put the Padres ahead with an RBI single. Daulton Varsho then hit an RBI triple to tie the game. Lukes then hit an RBI single to walk it off for Toronto. The Blue Jays completed a sweep of the Padres and moved one game over .500.