In a rarely shaky night for stripling, the Blue Jays’ bats explode in the win over the Phillies

PHILADELPHIA — As overall wins rise for the Toronto Blue Jays, the strategic issues facing team decision-makers are changing, sometimes on a day-to-day basis. But on the field, the challenge on the field remains the same: just win.

On that front, the Blue Jays did what they had to do on Tuesday, beating the Phillies in an 18-11 slugfest at Citizens Bank Park to go 84-64. Ross Stripling wasn’t at his best and Julian Merryweather made it a lot closer than it needed to be, but Alejandro Kirk returned to the lineup with a walk and three singles from the DH spot on a night where Toronto’s offense left plenty of room to breathe 21 hits.

It was ugly, but it counts.

Though stripling allowed five earned runs spanning more than four innings, Teoscar Hernandez had a four-hit game and catcher Danny Jansen added three of his own while Matt Chapman took Kyle Gibson deep for his 27th home run of the season.

All in all a welcome one-sided victory in a stressful phase of the season. At the same time, each individual game also fits into a larger puzzle. The results of the Rays and Mariners games determine how much space the Blue Jays have at the top of the AL wildcard standings. Arguably more important are the results of the Yankees and Orioles games, as flip-flops with either of those teams would be a real game changer for the Blue Jays.

“It’s so messed up at the moment,” said interim manager John Schneider on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s always changing, so I know it sounds cliche, but we’re trying to stay focused on the task at hand. You want to put yourself in a position to dictate your own script.”

First things first: The Blue Jays need to make the playoffs. But since FanGraphs put their chance of promotion at 99.6 percent before they beat the Phillies, we’re assuming they’ll play 162+ this year.

It’s one thing to get there. How they get there is also important. So, tactically, how are the Blue Jays approaching the final two weeks of the regular season?

“You make informed decisions based on where you are in the table and where other teams are,” Schneider said.

If there’s a chance to upset the Yankees, the Blue Jays need to push because a first-round bye would remove the risk that comes with a three-game wildcard streak. The Yankees started the day 5.5 games ahead of the Blue Jays but play three games in Toronto next week so there’s a chance to go head to head to ground.

With that in mind, the Blue Jays could allow Alek Manoah to rest regularly for Friday’s start against the Rays and set up a possible Manoah appearance in Wednesday’s final against New York.

At some point in the upcoming Rays series, Mitch White will be joining the rotation, but details there have yet to be finalized. One scenario in the game would be White, who is on the Taxi team with the Blue Jays in Philadelphia starting Saturday.

Confirmed rotation plans

Tuesday vs. Phillies – Stripling
Wednesday vs Phillies – Kevin Gausman

Possible rotation plans

Thursday vs Rays – Jose Berríos
Friday vs Rays – Manoah
Saturday vs Rays – White
Sunday vs Rays – Stripling

Monday vs. Yankees – Gausman
Tuesday vs. Yankees – Berríos
Wednesday vs. Yankees – Manoah

The state of the bullpen will affect the Blue Jays’ decisions, as will results elsewhere in the AL playoff race. If the Yankees continue to gain ground against the Blue Jays, for example, there’s a need to work to give Manoah some extra rest. He’s already setting career-best innings at every start, and his most important games are yet to come.

“It’s liquid,” Schneider said. “Having options is good. A lot will be dictated over the next three days.”

The Blue Jays had to use their bullpen for five innings after Stripling busted with Merryweather, allowing for five earned runs and throwing 29 pitches for his worst outing of the year.

Ideally they would field Gausman and Manoah for the wildcard round, but this duo could also be needed on the final weekend of the season. Anyhow, the Blue Jays, Mariners and Rays look set for a particularly close finish. The best team among those three gets home field advantage, while the last finisher might have an easier route to the ALCS with the AL Central winners followed by the Yankees.

Under the circumstances, the second wildcard finish is arguably the worst finish, giving the Blue Jays great incentive to keep winning. But at this point, it’s far too early to start thinking about refining a finish. The more you win now, the more opportunities you have later. In other words, make the blowouts come.

“You play to win every game,” Schneider said. “Whatever the outcome, you want to A) play well, B) come in, and C) play well when we come in.”