Blue Jays respond vs. Yanks after pregame meeting

NEW YORK -- In the aftermath of the Trade Deadline, which saw the Blue Jays become sellers for the first time in recent seasons, manager John Schneider called a meeting with the team's remaining veterans to circle the wagons.

George Springer was there. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was there. Kevin Gausman was there. Alejandro Kirk, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, Chad Green and Daulton Varsho were there.

"The guys that have been here for a while, from the start," Schneider said.

Schneider wanted them to know there's still a plan -- and that plan is to win in 2025. He wanted to answer any questions they had about the team's direction. He wanted to reinforce that the Blue Jays are still here to compete, every day, and the team leaders need to set the example for all the young players trying to showcase themselves as members of the club's future.

"[It was] basically answering any questions they had about what we did, and why," Schneider said. "And then, how much we're gonna rely on them to continue to go out and be prepared and show the way."

And when Toronto took the field at Yankee Stadium on Friday, the team responded by winning the series opener against the Yankees, 8-5, a much-needed bounceback after they dropped three of four games to the Orioles on the first leg of their seven-game American League East road trip.

"I think everybody came out of that feeling better," Gausman said of the meeting with Schneider. "Because the last couple of days before that were pretty rough."

Guerrero set the tone in a rain-delayed game in New York, extending his hitting streak to 15 games right out of the gate. His RBI single off former teammate Marcus Stroman in the top of the first inning opened the scoring and gave Toronto a lead it would hold wire-to-wire.

Toronto's All-Star first baseman's streak is tied for the longest active in the Majors -- the Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. and the Orioles' Colton Cowser also currently have 15-game streaks.

Gausman, meanwhile, gutted through 4 2/3 innings on a night where he didn't have his best stuff, but was able to keep the Blue Jays ahead.

After the game, the veteran right-hander didn't want to divulge the details of the team meeting, but he said he came away with questions answered.

"That's between me and Schneids and the guys that were in that room. But there is a plan," Gausman said. "The meeting was more: We realized that we lost some guys, and it's been tough. This season isn't what we expected. But we're still here, and we're still looking forward. All we can do is set the precedent from here, going into the offseason and into next year."

That's the veterans holding up their end of the bargain. And when Schneider called them together, he wanted to make sure they left the room knowing the Blue Jays' coaching staff will hold up its end, too.

"All those guys are at a point in their career where they want to win," Schneider said. "Watching Vladdy play, watching George play, Varsh with the energy and the intent, we just wanted to make sure that [they know], 'Hey, we're still going out and trying to win.'

"We are not a totally rebuilding team right now," added Schneider. "Our intention next year is to be right back in the area of this division to win. I think having them hear that, having them hear, 'We're coming in as a staff, we're never gonna stop preparing to win, expecting to win' -- I think they deserve that."

And as for the young players -- they showed up on Friday, too.

Joey Loperfido, who was acquired from the Astros in Toronto's Yusei Kikuchi trade on Monday, was a spark against the Yankees. Loperfido tripled in his first at-bat -- he then scored on Guerrero's single -- and finished 2-for-5 with the triple and two runs scored.

Spencer Horwitz -- not a trade acquisition, of course, but a homegrown prospect who'll get plenty of run down the stretch as he vies to be a key part of the 2025 squad -- also had a big game. The 26-year-old went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

"Our young guys have been really fun to watch. I watch them get better every day," Gausman said. "But they still are young. So they're gonna have growing pains, just like we did when we were young. We're here for that. But it's about going out and competing, and those guys want to win every day."