TORONTO -- Austin Hays wasn’t even sure if he had a remote chance at making the play.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, watching from the first-base dugout at Rogers Centre, initially thought center fielder Colton Cowser was going to get to the ball -- an 80.6 mph liner off the bat of the Blue Jays’ Whit Merrifield splitting between Hays and Cowser in left-center field.

“I’m looking for Cowser, and I don’t see him,” Hyde said. “So then I’m praying for Hays.”

Those prayers were answered in the form of one of the top defensive gems of the year.

Hays’ potential game-saving catch helped Félix Bautista nail down a five-out save in Baltimore’s series-opening 4-2 win over Toronto on Monday night. The 28-year-old left fielder’s diving snag marked the second out of the bottom of the ninth inning and came at a time when the Blue Jays had runners on first and second with Merrifield representing the possible go-ahead run.

By covering 70 feet in 4.3 seconds (per Statcast), Hays put himself in position to prevent one (and maybe even two) runs from scoring. He started shifted slightly over towards center -- because of Bautista’s high velocity and the right-handed-hitting Merrifield’s ability to slap the ball the other way -- so he was in a better position to reach it, with the necessary extra lunge.

“I knew it was far away when I dove, so I was going to have to try to do a little swim move in the air to try to get an extra couple feet there at the end,” Hays said. “I was unsure if I was going to be able to bring it in once I dove, just because it was far away.”

Hays and Cowser didn’t verbally communicate, but it became clear as the ball got closer that Hays had a better opportunity for it, which Cowser realized as he veered behind to back up the play.

Over Hays’ six-year big league career (all of which has been spent in Baltimore), he’s made plenty of remarkable defensive plays across the outfield. But he believes Monday’s grab is his best yet, without a doubt.

“That’s got to be No. 1, just with the situation of the game right there, too,” Hays said. “Yeah, I’d say that’s the best catch I’ve ever made.”

And of course he made it, right? Orioles fans likely weren’t surprised when Hays came out of nowhere to do so, and then Bautista recorded his American League-leading 29th save by striking out Santiago Espinal to seal another close victory. Baltimore’s latest win also featured three RBIs from Ryan Mountcastle, Gunnar Henderson’s 17th homer of the year and six-plus innings of one-run ball from Kyle Gibson.

The O’s are sitting atop the East Division with an AL-best 65-41 record because they seemingly have always had players rise to the occasion in big moments all season.

With the Trade Deadline looming at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, a lot of buzz has surrounded what potential moves the Orioles may still make. They already added righty reliever Shintaro Fujinami to the bullpen via a July 19 trade with the A’s, but the team could still further bolster its pitching staff.

Everybody in Baltimore’s clubhouse has been trying to not keep that front of mind, though.

“It’s easy to look around and see moves and to get anxious and get antsy and kind of wait and see where the dominoes are going to fall for us,” Gibson said. “I think the benefit we have here -- not to compare us to another team, but I mean, how many moves are the Braves or certain teams going to make if there’s not as much of a need, right?

“Do we have needs? Sure. Are there players that can make our team better? Sure. But I think we have a really darn good baseball team, and if we don’t make this massive splash or anything like that, I think this team’s really good.”

The Orioles have proven that with their success against AL East foes. They went 7-6 in their completed season series vs. the Yankees (marking the first time the O’s have won it since 2016). Baltimore is also now 6-1 against the Blue Jays, needing only one win in the remaining six meetings between the two teams to win that season series for the first time since ‘17.

In a competitive AL East in which all five teams are at least four games above .500, the Orioles are 22-13 in division play, putting themselves in a great position for potential tiebreaker scenarios.

“We’ve had a tough run against this division the last few years, and really my whole career,” Hays said. “To be able to turn the corner this year and start winning some of these season series, it’s been great and really fun to be a part of.”