The Toronto Blue Jays have remained competitive in the AL wild-card standings and a Alejandro Kirk is a big reason why. 

Since the All-Star break he is slashing .361/.439/.530 with four home runs, and 16 RBI. He also ranks first among catchers with a 168 wRC+ and a 1.6 WAR. 

In the Blue Jays' 10-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, Kirk had a busy night at the plate. He was a triple shy of the cycle hitting a home run, a double, two runs scored and he collected three RBI. 

He has stepped up his performance in the second half of the season with a .915 OPS and his offensive surge in August has helped keep the Blue Jays' postseason hopes alive as they sit a half-game out of a final AL wild-card spot. 

Alejandro Kirk since the All-Star break:

.361/.439/.530, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 168 wRC+ (1st among catchers), 1.6 WAR (1st among catchers)

'Captain Kirk' coming through big for the Blue Jays 

The Blue Jays have won 13 of their last 19 games and are looking for their seventh consecutive series win against the AL East-leading Rays, a team against whom the Blue Jays have struggled at Tropicana Field. 

But the team will be looking to rewrite history as they've been playing with urgency and Kirk's clutch resurgence has resembled his "Captain Kirk" 2025 All-Star campaign, where he sported a .282 batting average with 15 home runs, 76 RBI and 127 hits.  

Kirk has been raking at a critical time as the Blue Jays have 36 regular-season games remaining, which means every game will be important  as they are in a tight AL wild-card race with six other teams. 

In the Blue Jays' recent series victory against the New York Yankees, Kirk gave Yankees pitchers a hard time as he batted .444 (4-for-9) with a home run, a double, three RBI, and drew four walks across three games with a .615 on-base percentage. Kirk was so much of a threat against the Yankees that they intentionally walked him twice in the second game of the series on Aug. 15.