Win or lose, the standings part of the Blue Jays’ push to the post-season seems to be taking care of itself these days.

Through a sometimes unsteady stretch recently, the Jays have managed to do slightly better than hold serve atop the American League East, thanks to the wilder inconsistencies of their closest pursuers, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

But as we saw during an underwhelming 3-3 road trip that wound up with a 5-3 loss to the Florida Marlins Sunday afternoon in Miami, there is work to do.

The Jays were unable to exact a sweep of the Marlins after running into a buzzsaw that is young Marlins hurler Eury Perez, just the latest in a string of top-notch starters they’ve faced.

Yet even in a loss against an inferior foe, they showed the grit that has defined them when

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