On Saturday, Tim Mayza seemed unsure about his chances of getting called up by the Toronto Blue Jays. Mazya said the circumstances didn't seem favorable, according to Frank Mercon, one of his high school coaches.

            "The Blue Jays still think they are in the playoff race, and Tim wasn't on the 

40-man roster," Mercon said, relating a conversation with Mayza.

            The coach said Mayza, a hard-throwing left handed pitcher, expressed his determination to continue working towards that goal of making the Major League.

            "Tim said that if it's meant to be, it will happen, and that he wanted to make it as difficult as possible for the Blue Jays to keep him in the minor leagues," Mercon said.

            Two days later, the Toronto Blue Jays officially purchased his contract from Triple-A Buffalo. On Monday afternoon, following a two-hour, car-ride across the border, the left-handed pitcher entered the SkyDome clubhouse, where he recognized some recent teammates.

            "The ride in was a little nerve wracking," said Mayza, the first lifelong resident of the Upper Perkiomen valley to play in the Major League. "Once I got in the clubhouse, I was more relaxed. I just tried to go with the flow."

            On Monday night, his first in the big leagues, Mayza watched his team post a 2-1 victory over Tampa Bay. The following night, he pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a 6-4 loss to the Rays. Mayza, who struck out pinch hitter Peter Bourjos to open the ninth, worked around a single by Wilson Ramos and Daniel Robertson's double.  Corey Dickerson's line drive ended the threat.

            Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told Sports Net Canada he would use Mayza against both right-handed and left-handed hitters and he could go multiple innings if needed.

            "He's got a great arm, left-handed, saw some good things in spring training and he's been pitching well lately," Gibbons said according to an Aug. 14 story posted on the organization's website.

            Mayza, who found out about his promotion after midnight Monday morning on a bus ride back to Buffalo from Toledo, was surprised by the news. He said his goal is to prepare "to the best of his ability" to pitch for the Blue Jays.

             "I want to compete and enjoy the moment," said Mayza, who is currently living in a hotel room at the ballpark. "It's been a crazy ride."

            A 12^th round pick of the Blue Jays in the 2013 First Year Players Draft out of Millersville University, Mayza started the season at Double-A New Hampshire. He collected four saves and amassed 43 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings before accepting a promotion to Buffalo on July 3.

            He spent just six weeks with the Bisons, posting an 0.93 ERA in 11 appearances. Mayza notched 16 strikeouts in 19 innings, while holding opposing International League hitters to a .216 average. The 6-foot-3 lefthander was especially dominant in his final six appearances, tossing 11 shutout innings and striking out eight.

            In Buffalo, Mayza developed a more consistent slider. He also allowed himself to "enjoy the moment."

            The organization wanted the left-hander to throw more strikes and do a better job commanding his fastball, according to Ernie Quatrani, who coached Mayza on the high school and Perkiomen's American Legion baseball teams.

            "It seemed like Tim was going to stay in Buffalo until he mastered the things the organization was trying to teach him," said Quatrani, who spoke with his former player at the Blue Gold Banquet in June. "Looking at the statistics, that came to fruition."

            Mayza's ability to master the mental side of the game motivated the Blue Jays to call him up, according to Mercon, a former assistant coach on the high school team under Quatrani who also managed the player for one season on the legion team.

            "Toronto has been testing him in the minor leagues," Mercon said. "They wanted to see if he could figure out how to work through things on his own. Every time he took one step back, Tim would respond by taking two steps forward."

            Mercon is hopeful that Mayza's accomplishment will show Upper Perkiomen baseball players that they can "get to the top" if they are willing to put in the time and listen to instruction.

            Quatrani said he expects the pitcher to serve as a symbol of all the great success in other occupations for people throughout the valley.

            "Hopefully this lesion goal well beyond being a major league player," Quatrani said.