Pirates might've just tilted AL East race by giving away latest hero

It hasn't even been two full weeks since Isiah Kiner-Falefa last played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the veteran utility man hasn't wasted any time getting reacquainted with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Kiner-Falefa, who was traded from Toronto to Pittsburgh at last year's trade deadline, returned to his former team just over a year later when the Blue Jays claimed him off waivers on Aug. 31. Once the Pirates' starting shortstop, he has transitioned to a bench role in Toronto – but it's not a bad gig for a guy going from the worst team in the National League Central to the best team in the American League East, where he now has a chance to contribute to a playoff push.

Kiner-Falefa did just that on Tuesday, when he came up in a big spot for the Blue Jays during their game against the Houston Astros. Entering the game as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning, Kiner-Falefa drove in two runs with the bases loaded to tie the score at three runs apiece. The Blue Jays eventually walked the game off in the 10th inning on an infield hit from Tyler Heineman.

The Blue Jays now sit in first place in the AL East, three games ahead of the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Toronto is also a half-game ahead of the Detroit Tigers for the top spot in the American League.

Pirates might've just tilted AL East race by giving away latest hero to Blue Jays

Kiner-Falefa told MLB.com's Keegan Matheson that he felt that his role in Tuesday's win was "meant to be" after his return to the Blue Jays.

“I visualized it walking up to the plate," Kiner-Falefa said. "I was like… I went to Pittsburgh for this hit right here. It’s all come full circle.”

They say you can't truly appreciate the good times until you've experienced the bad ones, and the Pirates organization is about as bad as it gets. Through 169 games with Pittsburgh, Kiner-Falefa hit .256 and posted a career-low .617 OPS. Admittedly, that made him one of the Pirates' most consistent hitters during his brief time there – though that says more about the organization than it does about him.

Anyway, now Kiner-Falefa is back in Toronto, with a team that deploys him properly (off the bench). He'll also get a well-deserved opportunity to play in October and even contend for a World Series title – two things he wouldn't have even gotten close to doing in Pittsburgh.