ARLINGTON, TEXAS—So much has been written extolling the virtues of the top four hitters in the Blue Jays batting order, the Fab Four, Murderer’s Row, the Beesty Boys, whatever you want to call them. But if you ask any one of that fearsome foursome — Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista or Edwin Encarnacion — they will tell you that it is the bottom half of the Jays’ lineup that sets the table for their RBI bats, and that the bottom four don’t get the credit they should.

In Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Rangers, the bottom of the order did its thing, but the big boys at the top combined to go 2-for-14 with three walks. Ben Revere, batting seventh, had three hits and a stolen base. Eighth-place hitter Cliff Pennington was robbed of an RBI double on a great diving catch by left fielder Will Venable in the second, and drew a walk. Ryan Goins, batting in the nine-hole and playing shortstop for a day, was 2-for-4.

It has been a steady, season-long contribution by the bottom four in the batting order, though the cast of characters has changed periodically, for example due to the injury to Devon Travis. On this eight-game trip, during which the Jays went 6-2, the six-to-nine hitters have included: Ben Revere (eight games), Kevin Pillar (seven), Cliff Pennington (five), Ryan Goins (four), Russell Martin (three), Dioner Navarro (two) and Josh Thole and Ezequiel Carrera, once each. The pitchers batted ninth twice in Philadelphia.

“That’s really kind of been, from Day 1, a key part of our team . . . the guys at the bottom of the order getting on for the guys up top,” manager John Gibbons said. “That was where we struggled quite a bit last year, but going back to Devon Travis, even, now, Goins, Kevin Pillar, all those guys, especially the guys early in the season, that’s what they were doing. Now the way Revere’s been lately and Pennington, that’s the key to a team. You don’t want any black holes down there.”

The bottom four in the Jays’ order combined to go 30-for-101 (.297) on the road trip with 17 bases-on-balls, 23 runs and 11 RBIs. As a team, the Jays scored 67 runs on the trip.

“I mean, you look at the way the lineup’s constructed,” Pillar said. “By the time they get to the seven hitter, maybe in their mind they’re exhaling a little bit and we take pride in making it as tough as possible on (a pitcher) before the lineup gets turned over and he has to go through Murderer’s Row again.”

For the season, given all the injuries, demotions and trades, the bottom half of the order has been a big factor in giving the Jays their 99-run advantage over the second-place Yankees in total runs scored. With the Jays’ top four hitters, it’s like having Goliath and David on the same team.

For the entire season, the bottom four spots, including pitchers hitting in interleague road games, are a combined 468-for-1846 (.254) with 200 walks, 265 runs and 228 RBIs.

“We’ve got middle-of-the-order guys who in the minor leagues were used to driving in runs, but have learned how to just do things fundamentally sound and that’s what makes our team better,” Pillar said. “If we can do our job at the bottom of the order, get on base, move runners, the biggest thing is scoring from first on doubles for these guys. It’s just fun to be part of the lineup. At the end of the day, to be considered one of the best lineups in baseball history, it’s fun just to be a part of.”

That may be a little early in the process to be labelling this lineup among the best in baseball history, but it is the top lineup in baseball this year. And everyone is contributing.

Pillar had his five game hitting streak snapped Thursday, but in his past six games is 10-for-28 (.357) and swinging the bat much better after recovering from a right hand issue. On August 26, he slammed his eighth homer of the season, after a drought of 154 at-bats.

Goins has a six-game hit streak, going 7-for-14 (.500). In his last 21 games, the infielder has a .448 on-base percentage and an .877 OPS.

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Revere has a seven game hitting streak — 14-for-29 (.483) — and has raised his batting average to .301, with 16 runs scored in the 23 games he has played since joining the Jays. On Thursday, he stole his first base.

Editor’s note: This column has been updated to correct that the second quote in the story was from Kevin Pillar, not manager John Gibbons.