Bus trip: Blue Jays log extra miles on the road 
The trip from Phoenix to Anaheim was anything but first-class for Toronto’s traveling party. After a technical issue with the plane’s flight controls, the players had to wave off their private jet. Faced with the choice of waiting for a backup aircraft or hitting the road, the clubhouse voted for a five-hour bus ride down Interstate 10. It was a lower-league sort of slog, one that had the players sleeping between cases of water while staff snored away in the background.
That kind of hit to the usual comfort level did not escape veteran Max Scherzer, who has already joked that he will drag manager John Schneider before the players’ internal court for crimes against ergonomics.
Dylan Cease: rest pays off 
In the middle of all that travel chaos, Toronto made one smart call for Dylan Cease. To protect the only healthy starting arm left in a rotation shredded by injuries, the front office sent him ahead on a commercial flight. It paid off. Fully rested, the right-hander carved up Angels hitters all night, piling up a hefty 12 strikeouts in just five innings. His command and authority helped Toronto to a 5-2 win and gave the club a chance to breathe after a shortened night.
Vladdy Jr. keeps rolling, bullpen slams the door
At the plate, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. showed he does not need a recliner to stay dangerous. By launching a 430-foot shot in the third inning, he not only helped his team but also stretched his hitting streak to 11 games. That is exactly the spark Toronto needs right now to offset an injury list that seems to grow by the day, with Berrios, Yesavage and Bieber among those sidelined.
The finish was handled cleanly by a bullpen that looked to have forgotten all about the bus ride. Braydon Fisher, Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers and Jeff Hoffman combined for four scoreless innings, with Hoffman adding three strikeouts in the ninth to shut the door. In the end, the bus trip might just have been the jolt this group needed.
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