TORONTO — Hitting is hard enough. When you’re facing Paul Skenes, it’s downright unfair.

The Blue Jays knew they needed to be realistic Saturday when Skenes, possibly the best pitcher on the planet, made his start for the Pirates. This was not a time to dream big, it was a time to get dirty and make something happen.

“This is a hard-hat day,” manager John Schneider said prior to the 5-2 win. “This is a Don Mattingly ‘hard-hat and lunch-pail’ day. He liked to call it that.”

The scouting report:
Hours before the game, Schneider was asked if he’d cracked the secret to hitting Skenes yet.

“No,” Schneider said, shaking his head and laughing. No one has.

Specifics matter, though. Skenes will beat you in different ways than Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Tarik Skubal will, all of them elite pitchers in their very own ways. The Blue Jays didn’t need a game plan to “crack the code” on Skenes and score 10 runs; they just needed to find the odd opening, the odd chance to do something.

“Great stuff, in the zone, a lot of arm-side movement in on righties. You have to get him out over the plate as much as you can and pick an area of the plate,” Schneider said. “Try to grind him down as much as you can. You’ve got to take advantage when you get guys on, whether that’s trying to run, hit and run, make something happen, whatever it is.”

The plan:
Last season, the Blue Jays prided themselves on being stubborn against great pitchers. If you can’t beat them, bug them.

This came from the 2025 Blue Jays’ incredible contact ability, and while some of that has carried over to ‘26, this year’s version doesn’t have the same pop behind all of that contact. The plan going into Sunday, then, relied more on efficiency and situational hitting. Just like a postseason game, identity is key, anything that can turn this into a “Blue Jays game” instead of a Paul Skenes concert.

“Top to bottom, you have to do your part. Get a guy over, get a guy in,” Schneider said. “Try to work some at-bats. Try to not have quick at-bats. Have everyone do their part. He doesn’t make mistakes, but when he does, you’ve got to be ready for them. If you get in a situation to get them over and get them in, you’ve got to get them over and get them in.”

They’ll never say no to a little luck, either.

“You never know when the ball leaves the bat, you know?” Schneider said.

Did it work?
Immediately … and eventually.

George Springer so clearly had a plan in his first at-bat of the game, even before launching a solo home run. Springer took a massive cut on the first pitch, targeting something early, then finally turned on a 98.7 mph fastball and launched it over the wall in left field. That’s the hardest pitch Springer has hit out since July 26, 2022, an extremely encouraging indicator as he continues to show signs of breaking out.

“He’s trending in the right direction, man,” Schneider said. “He’s taking some good swings this last week. It’s good to get him rolling a little bit.”

Then, after Skenes had his way for a few innings, the Blue Jays got it done the other way, by moving runners and barreling up the odd pitch that caught too much of the plate. The sixth inning opened with:

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: Single
Yohendrick Piñango: Single
Jesús Sánchez: RBI double
Ernie Clement: RBI single

“That was pretty relentless,” Schneider said. “It’s not easy to rack up nine hits off of him and keep your strikeouts down, too.”

By the time the book closed on Skenes, he’d allowed four runs on nine hits over five-plus innings of work. That’s like scoring 10 off a “normal” pitcher. Skenes got only seven whiffs with two strikeouts, too, both incredible numbers for the Blue Jays.

For a Toronto lineup still trying to dig out of this early season rut, this is one of the most encouraging days we’ve seen yet. This is exactly the type of win that can galvanize a group and move the Blue Jays one step toward an identity, which has been lacking through 52 games.

All it took was facing the last pitcher anyone wants to see.