SAN DIEGO -- The Blue Jays have waited for well over a year for Daulton Varsho to find his rhythm offensively.

After many fruitless nights, their patience finally appears to be paying off.

Varsho went 3-for-4 with a double, a homer, three RBIs and a stolen base to lead the Blue Jays to a 5-2 win over the Padres on Saturday night at Petco Park. The 27-year-old left fielder has five homers in his last eight games after going homerless in his first 13 contests to start the season.

With Varsho leading the way, the Blue Jays have won five of their last six and are 6-2 overall since he began his home run surge.

“I'm having a better understanding now of where my swing is at and I'm not missing my pitch when it's there,” Varsho said. “I wouldn't say it's perfect, but I would say I feel pretty decent.”

Varsho wasted no time against the Padres continuing his power binge. He opened the scoring in the first inning when he turned on an elevated 94.3 mph fastball from Randy Vásquez and laced it down the right-field line for a three-run homer to give Toronto an immediate lead. In the third inning, he turned on a Vásquez changeup and ripped it past diving Padres first baseman Jake Cronenworth for a two-out double. In the ninth, he smoked another ground ball through the right side for a single, promptly stole second and scored on Ernie Clement’s pinch-hit single to cap the scoring for the Jays.

“This is the potential that Daulton has,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “We know that. I don't know if the rest of the league really believed it until you see it kind of unfold. But there's a lot of hard work that goes behind the scenes, so just happy for him that he's getting results right now.”

Varsho added a defensive highlight in the sixth inning, making a leaping catch on the warning track and banging into the left-field wall to rob Jackson Merrill of extra bases and end the frame.

It was Varsho’s second straight night with a standout defensive play. In the series opener, he raced into the left-field gap, made a leaping catch and banged hard against the wall to rob Xander Bogaerts of extra bases.

“He helps you win every single night in some aspect of the game, whether it's at the plate, in the field or on the bases,” Schneider said. “He's put himself in a really good spot.”

It’s been a redemptive stretch for Varsho, who has struggled mightily since the Blue Jays acquired him from the D-backs in exchange for outfielder Lourdes Gurriel and catcher Gabriel Moreno before last season. Gurriel became an All-Star and Moreno won a Gold Glove as they led the D-backs to the 2023 World Series. Varsho, meanwhile, hit .220/.285/.389 in his first season with Toronto to make the deal appear lopsided in Arizona’s favor.

Now, in year two with the Blue Jays, he’s starting to move in the right direction.

“Coming to a new team, you're always trying to do more and try to be more than what you are,” Varsho said. “But at the end of the day, if you go and be yourself, you're going to be the best player you can be. And I think last year was just one of those years where I tried to do more.”

Backed by Varsho, José Berríos pitched six scoreless innings with five hits allowed, two walks and six strikeouts to earn the win and move to 4-0 on the season with a 0.85 ERA.

Berrios got plenty of help from his outfield defense. In addition to Varsho’s leaping grab in the sixth, Kevin Kiermaier made a sliding catch in center field to end the fourth and George Springer made a twisting catch over his head at the wall in right to rob Fernando Tatis Jr. of a run-scoring extra-base hit in the fifth.

“I mean, it's amazing,” Berrios said. “One thing we know … is that we have the best outfield in the league. They love and have passion for being the difference. All three. We pitchers feel secure that any fly ball, they're going to put their 100% in to get the ball.”

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added a pair of hits and Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled and scored on a wild pitch for the Jays. Jordan Romano, pitching for the second straight night, retired the side in order in the ninth for his second save.