BALTIMORE – Marco Estrada’s bounce-back start was understandably the focal point of Monday’s win over the Baltimore Orioles, but the Toronto Blue Jays also got some quietly effective relief pitching after he left.

Because closer Roberto Osuna and setup man Jason Grilli had both pitched Saturday and Sunday, the Blue Jays turned to their next tier of relievers: Joe Biagini and Joaquin Benoit. Both responded to the challenge, allowing the Blue Jays to close out their 75th win of the season.

It’s the kind of performance that can go unnoticed when a team’s rolling, but for a Blue Jays team that had real trouble bridging the gap to Osuna earlier in the year, those contributions are appreciated.

“Biagini, shoot, he’s been good all year,” manager John Gibbons said. “It’s really an amazing story is what it is and he just keeps getting better and better. One thing he does is gets ground balls. In a ballpark like [Oriole Park at Camden Yards] that’s pretty good.”

In 48 games this year, Biagini has a 2.28 ERA with 48 strikeouts, 13 walks and a 53 per cent ground ball rate. That performance has earned him regular work in meaningful games instead of the mop-up assignments many Rule 5 picks get.

Benoit then followed up Biagini’s inning with two strikeouts, completing his 14th consecutive appearance without an earned run since joining the Blue jays. Walks were an issue for Benoit in Seattle, but he hasn’t issued a free pass in any of his last seven appearances.

“Benoit since he’s been here he’s been just about perfect,” Gibbons said.

The result has been welcome stability in a Blue Jays bullpen that lacked solutions for much of the year.

CALL-UPS COMING

The Blue Jays expect to call up their first wave of September reinforcements Friday, their first game after rosters expand September 1.

“There’ll be some guys coming for us, I know that,” Gibbons said. “A handful of relievers that have been here. … A few position players, too.”

Relievers such as Danny Barnes, Mike Bolsinger, Chad Girodo, Aaron Loup and Ryan Tepera are all on the 40-man roster, which makes them easier to promote. The Blue Jays’ bullpen currently includes just one left-hander, so calling up a southpaw right away makes sense. Beyond that, Tepera has spent the most time at the MLB level this year.

On the position player side, the Blue Jays will use one of their promotions on a third catcher. If the recently-designated Josh Thole clears waivers and remains in Toronto, he could fill that role, with Erik Kratz and A.J. Jimenez next on the depth chart.

Ryan Goins seems like an obvious call-up and the likes of Andy Burns, Chris Colabello, Matt Dominguez, Darrell Ceciliani and Dalton Pompey are 40-man players with recent MLB experience who will likely earn consideration.

The Blue Jays now have 39 players on their 40-man roster, but they’ll need that open spot for a catcher. If needed, they could consider removing Brady Dragmire, a right-hander who has a 4.52 ERA at double-A.

Generally speaking, though, Gibbons isn’t a fan of the way expanded rosters impact games late in seasons. With so many players available, in-game strategy changes and the pace of the game slows considerably. Instead, Gibbons would like to see teams expand rosters with the caveat that only a certain number of players would be available on any given day.

“I think that would probably be the smart way to do it,” he said.

ROTATION PLANS

The Blue Jays have a pretty good idea of how their rotation will look for this weekend’s series against the Tampa Bay Rays, but they have yet to announce their plans.

Once Aaron Sanchez returns to the rotation Wednesday, the Blue Jays will again have six starters at their disposal. Getting the most out of the group during the pennant race will be a challenge for Gibbons and his staff.

“We’ll let you know,” Gibbons promised.