TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays aren't just celebrating their season-high eight-game win streak, they're celebrating how they've done it.
Joey Loperfido delivered a key run-producing hit and reliever Ryan Burr registered the win in Toronto's 3-2 victory over the Angels on Sunday to sweep Los Angeles. Both players made their season debuts in the triumph.
Loperfido was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo to replace an injured Andres Gimenez (ankle). Burr was activated from the 60-day injured list at the same time as he needed the first three months of the season to recover from a right shoulder ailment.
"I think it speaks volumes to the kind of tone and the culture we have here," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. "Looking back to last year, we had a revolving door in here, and it was kind of like, 'All right, who are we? What are we going to do?'
"Now it's like, 'this is what we're doing. Here's how we're doing it.' It's pretty cool for Joey to join the party as well as Ryan."
After Bo Bichette made up for an error in the top of the fourth, he smashed his 12th home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the inning. Later in the fourth, Loperfido singled with two outs to score Myles Straw for a 2-1 lead.
"I've been watching from afar and it looked like a ton of fun," said Loperfido, who in his pre-game meeting with Schneider discussed the different atmosphere in the Blue Jays' (52-38) clubhouse.
"There is a looseness and positivity and the fun that comes with a swagger."
Burr (1-0) took over for starter Kevin Gausman with two outs in the sixth inning and the game tied 2-2. Schneider left it up to Gausman whether to stay in.
But Gausman was gassed after tossing a season-high 107 pitches. Gausman also took on a bit of a manager's role, feeling Burr's slider would offset his own splitter as the perfect tonic to keep the Angels (43-46) hitters at bay.
Burr pitched 1 1/3 innings, striking out three of the six batters he faced. His slider struck out Mike Trout, who homered in the first inning, to begin the seventh.
"I thought he did a great job bridging the gap," Gausman said.
The Blue Jays' 52 wins is one shy of the club record for victories before the All-Star Game, set in 1985 and matched in 1992.
With three road games apiece against the Chicago White Sox and the Athletics in Sacramento, Calif., the two worst teams in the AL, Toronto should be able to topple the old 53-win mark before the break.
The four-game sweep of the Yankees earlier this week and three more against the Angels have put the Blue Jays in this position.
"We're gonna enjoy that," Schneider said. "To win out a homestand, throw in Canada Day, it being a different guy every night, that was pretty cool.
"It would have been easy to have a letdown after the four-game sweep. But to win three one-run games [against the Angels], and to do it in different ways with different people, it was awesome."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2025.
Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press
