Not just Vladdy: Loperfido and Lukes lead Blue Jays to 9th straight W

CHICAGO -- John Schneider’s pregame meeting with the media on Monday afternoon was interrupted by an eager young reporter.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lingered near the back of the crowd, peeking through the camera and grinning at his manager. Perhaps he was drawn to the only job in baseball more lucrative and glamorous than his. When a lull in the conversation came, he asked Schneider how he felt about the way his Blue Jays are playing.

“You know, Vladimir, it was a great homestand, a historic homestand at Rogers Centre,” Schneider said. “I love the way that everyone’s contributing. It’s not just you every night. It’s not just the same guy every night.”

That just about captures it. It wasn’t just Vladdy in Monday night’s 8-4 win over the White Sox, it hasn’t just been Vladdy over the Blue Jays’ nine-game winning streak and it hasn’t just been Vladdy all season long. It’s Toronto’s longest winning streak since 2015, the year that put Blue Jays baseball back on the map in Canada, and with the Yankees (49-41) enjoying a night off, the Blue Jays (53-38) extended their lead to 3 1/2 games in the American League East.

Monday’s win was built on power, with home runs coming from Joey Loperfido, Nathan Lukes and Addison Barger. Forget “not Vladdy,” these three weren’t even projected to play any sort of major role when the season began.

Loperfido, who only made his 2025 MLB debut on Sunday, hit a homer in the fifth before adding on with a two-run single during a bases-loaded situation in the sixth. Lukes, who’s recently been thrust into the leadoff spot, brought home another run on a squeeze bunt. Barger, despite his recent rise to stardom, didn’t even crack the Opening Day roster and took a few weeks to get rolling even after he’d been promoted this season. It’s a testament to the work each of these players has put in, but also to a coaching staff that seems to be pressing the right buttons at the right times.

“The way we’re playing, it’s everyone,” said José Berríos, who gave the Blue Jays six innings of one-run ball. “Everyone is contributing to the team, every game, every win. It’s fun when we have a team, lineup and pitching staff. It’s everybody contributing to every win.”

What’s most surprising is that so much of this remarkable run has come from players you’re already familiar with. Again, it’s not Vladdy, it’s players like Ernie Clement, who has led off a handful of times but has more often been a menace at the bottom of the lineup. Schneider felt the Blue Jays were “stagnant” in recent years, often right-handed heavy, but it’s all coming together now because players like Clement, Barger and Lukes are fully embracing their talents and, just as importantly, their roles.

“If you’re not evolving, you’re just going to fall. You’re going to fall out of the game,” Schneider said. “I think it’s a combination of me realizing that and me being open enough to say there were a lot of things I could have done better last year. Given the roster, given injuries, the Trade Deadline and what our team looked like, there’s a lot of things I could have done better. It always starts with me, then it goes to the coaches and we relay it to the players.”

We’re seeing that evolution from Schneider in real time. He’s spoken openly about past failures and has led much of this change himself. This staff is getting the most out of its players, but even more importantly, these players are getting the most out of one another and themselves.

It’s one thing for role players to feel this, but much like Schneider’s role as manager, it’s different when these things come from the top down among players, and that will forever start at the top with Vladdy.

“This is one of the best years since I’ve been here in the clubhouse,” Guerrero said through a club interpreter. “Once I wake up, I just can’t wait to get to the field to be with my teammates. It’s been unbelievable. It’s what any manager wants, a team like that and a culture like that.”

Everyone in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse knows that “it’s not just Vladdy”. They’ve won nine in a row with Guerrero playing simply … fine. And that might be the scariest thing about the 2025 Blue Jays.