TORONTO -- José Berríos is, once again, who he has always been.

He¡¯s Ol¡¯ Reliable, a pitcher who nearly lulls you to sleep with his consistency. He¡¯s the man they call La Makina, the machine that just keeps chugging forward, over and over again.

Friday¡¯s dreadful 15-5 loss to the Marlins at Rogers Centre was the rare outlier, an ugly outing that, in its own strange way, highlighted just how good Berr¨ªos has been for the Blue Jays down the stretch. Berr¨ªos entered Friday's start -- during which he permitted six runs with three walks in three innings -- having allowed just nine earned runs over his last eight starts (53 2/3 IP), good for a 1.51 ERA over that span, so the unexpected stumble on the way out the door isn¡¯t much to worry about.

Berr¨ªos¡¯ numbers finish in the familiar spots, a 3.60 ERA next to his 192 1/3 innings. That workload ranks him seventh in baseball this season behind only Seth Lugo, Logan Webb, Logan Gilbert, Corbin Burnes, Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. That¡¯s one fine table to be seated at.

Consistency always carries an air of mystery, though. Breakout seasons are easier to define because you can typically point to a ¡°big thing¡± that changes, whether that be a new pitch, a velocity spike or a swing change. Ask manager John Schneider if anything has looked different about Berr¨ªos this season, though -- anything that really separates this year from all the others -- and he¡¯s stumped.

¡°You know what ¡­ not really? And I think that¡¯s a good thing,¡± Schneider explained. ¡°We¡¯ve just come to expect this from him. I always go back to the way he takes care of himself and how durable he is. There¡¯s not really anything [that stands out]. He¡¯s just right there in a really good, consistent way.¡±

If anything, the finer points of his delivery and his fastball location -- which abandoned him during an uncharacteristic 2022 season -- are as good as they¡¯ve ever been. There¡¯s been no grand revelation, though. In 2024, we just saw classic Berr¨ªos.

¡°He¡¯s good for a reason, so this is a good ¡®no answer¡¯ to have,¡± Schneider added with a laugh.

Berr¨ªos finishes the season with a career-high 16 wins, which is an accomplishment given the bullpen that often pitched behind him. That group has been one of the worst we¡¯ve seen in years in Toronto, particularly since the Trade Deadline sent this organization scouring the waiver wire on a weekly basis. Toronto¡¯s relievers gave up nine runs behind Berr¨ªos on Friday and the eye test matched the box score. They didn¡¯t get a scoreless inning until the ninth from ¡­ Tyler Heineman, the backup catcher.

Berr¨ªos has kept the bad days, like Friday, to a minimum. The bullpen needs a complete and total rebuild this winter, but the rotation is sticking around for 2025 and Berr¨ªos¡¯ value to that group stretches beyond his own outings.

¡°Him, Kevin [Gausman] and Chris [Bassitt] all provide a level of ¡®been there, done that,¡¯¡± Schneider said. ¡°It¡¯s helped Bowden [Francis]. It¡¯s helped Yariel [Rodr¨ªguez] in big ways. His overall professional presence has been really, really good for those two guys, Bowden and Yariel specifically, along with Kevin and Chris, too. He¡¯s been there and he¡¯s done that. It¡¯s been really beneficial here.¡±

Even with the season now behind him, there¡¯s something about Berr¨ªos that never turns off. By the time you read this, he¡¯s probably in the middle of another workout, watching another video, checking next year¡¯s schedule and mapping out lineups for week one. He¡¯s happy, but never satisfied.

¡°I¡¯ve been feeling strong and healthy with freedom to home plate,¡± Berr¨ªos said. ¡°It¡¯s hard when you lose and you know you¡¯re not going anywhere with a postseason spot, but I need to work. No matter what, we have to continue to focus and compete. I think I need to work on that. Other than that, I feel great with my pitches on the mound, and I had a lot of good games during the year.¡±

Those who follow Berr¨ªos quickly find the right path. It¡¯s unfortunate, though, that this season from Berr¨ªos, like Gausman two days ago, ends with a whimper, well out of the playoff picture. They¡¯re pitchers who belong in October, but too many parts of this Blue Jays roster have gotten in the way.

¡°He should be really proud of the things he did on and off the field,¡± Schneider said. ¡°Both as a pitcher who took the ball every five days, but also in the clubhouse and what he¡¯s done with his teammates.¡±