The Jays had such a mediocre record despite the big run differential because they were losing close games and winning blowouts. Toronto remains an awful 12-23 in one-run games but is the best in the majors, 24-6, in games decided by five runs or more, according to statistics from Baseball-Reference.com.

Fans are often suspicious of such teams, contending that they lack “heart” or “clutchiness.” But records in one-run games are largely a matter of luck. Teams that fare poorly in close games are just as likely to fare well in them in the future. Teams that do well in blowouts are just good teams, period.

(There is a team worse than the Jays in one-run games this year: The Oakland Athletics are 13-26. Though Oakland is an afterthought this season at 51-62, it has a respectable plus-35 run differential, better than the Rays, the Rangers and the Twins, all of whom are around .500.)

In their 11-1 run, the Jays have outscored their foes by 67-32, and their run differential now stands at 597 to 468, or plus 129, dwarfing the next-best team in the league, the Astros, who are plus 78. The Yankees, who lead the Jays by a game and a half going into Tuesday’s games, are plus 61.