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Shades of Spring in Fall: Toronto Blue Jays Finishing Strong

Do mine eyes deceive me, or are these the same Toronto Blue Jays from earlier this year?

For the second night in a row, Toronto's offense was firing on all cylinders and the starting pitching put forth a great effort to keep the team in the ballgame.

And Adam Lind is a beast.

If it wasn’t for Jonathan Papelbon’s plunking in the top of the ninth, Lind had a legitimate shot at hitting four home runs in one game.

Good for you, Papelbon. You will now be remembered in my mind as a pitcher who refuses to let opposing players hit milestones while you are on the mound.

Just remember that karma is a...well you know. I hope it comes back to bite you in the playoffs.

Next, let’s address Kevin Millar.

Is it just me, or did he look like an entirely different player last night? He was confident, secure and graceful at the corner all night long.

An assist from Rod Barajas and a leaping play showed that Millar maybe has some gas left in the tank.

For the second night in a row, Jose Bautista went yard, giving him seven home runs in September. Would you be shocked if I told you his OPS this month was .932?

I can’t believe it either.

All year long, I’ve flipped back and forth on whether or not Bautista was worth the $2.4 million, and I’m beginning to warm up to the idea of having him back next year. 

He's certainly worth his weight in gold defensively. Bautista is tied for fourth in the American League with 11 outfield assists.

And though Jason Frasor nearly gave us all a heart attack, he successfully shut the door on the late-charging Red Sox to save the game.

As I sighed in relief at that called strike three, I couldn’t help but notice how similar that pitch and situation was to the Angels' Brian Fuentes ordeal just a few weeks ago at Fenway Park.

I guess the umpires learned their lesson on that one.

It was a roller coaster game the whole way through, but the Blue Jays managed to win their fifth straight and stalled the Red Sox's Wild Card clinch for at least a few hours.

It’s games like these that show this team really does have what it takes to compete in the AL East.

It's too bad they didn’t show it until the final week of the season.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

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