TORONTO — Even in the twilight of his career, the light around him is bright. The days may be ticking down to a time when he’ll be sipping pina coladas on a beach where a sunset will no longer be the end of a significant career, but just a sunset.

Before all that, there are games to win, playoffs to make, and perhaps another World Series to celebrate.

And David Ortiz isn’t backing into anything.

On Sunday in Toronto, in a game the Red Sox truly needed, his three-run homer in the sixth off the very tough Joaquin Benoit, gave his team the lead for good in an 11-8 win.

It enabled the Red Sox to return for tough homestand against the Orioles and Yankees up two games in the American League East.

“We’re going. We’re moving. We’ve got the mojo back,’’ said Ortiz. “We had a good road trip. The second half has been away, but we’re in a good position right now. Our pitching has been outstanding. The bullpen stepped up and did a good job. We’re in a good position.’’

The changeup he hit out was similar to the one he had hit against Benoit for a grand slam in the eighth inning of Game 2 of the 2013 ALCS. Ortiz was asked if he thought of that homer as he faced Benoit on Sunday.

“Little bit,’’ he said. “He threw me a hittable pitch. I mean it wasn’t a bad pitch. It was the bottom of the strike[zone] where a pitcher likes to put it. I guess I put a good swing on it.’’

The home run was Ortiz’s 41st at Rogers Centre, the most at any opposing ballpark. It silenced the 47,816 on hand.

“I don’t really care about the noise and quieting down the noise. I care about winning,’’ he said. “We won the game and that’s really all that matters.’’

Ortiz felt this was one of the bigger wins of the season.

“It’s great. The Blue Jays have been playing outstanding baseball the last couple of years. Basically the competition is great. Everybody is chasing first place in the division. It’s a team that has a lot of talent. It’s a team that’s hard to beat,’’ he said. “They’re going through a funk right now, but they’re real good and you have to play your best when you play them.’’

He also liked the intestinal fortitude the team showed in having Brock Holt attempt a steal of home. In the fifth, the Red Sox were down, 8-7, and lefthander Aaron Loup was facing Jackie Bradley Jr. with Holt on third with two outs. It was a tough matchup for Bradley. The Sox thought it the right time to do it.

“On a perfect day, he would have been safe,’’ Ortiz said. “Of course, you’re going to see the negative side if it, but it was a good play and he almost got there. Especially a lefty facing a tough lefty. Why not take the chance?

“It was going to be the tying run. It’s something you play the game to win, and when you see a team trying to do something like that that’s the focus. That’s trying to win and you try to take advantage of the situation.’’

Before Toronto, Ortiz was out of the starting lineup for all three games in San Diego. He comes back to Boston hitting .315 with 32 homers and 110 RBIs.

“All of these hits feel good,’’ he said. “I knew I’d be losing my timing for a bit after missing time [in San Diego], but you see how the production has been. I was a little off first game of the series, and the second game. In this game, the ball I hit to center field [in the third] I felt I missed a little bit. My timing is off, yet we came through.’’

He came up in the eighth inning and struck out. The fans rose to their feet knowing it was likely his final at-bat here.

“It was great,’’ Ortiz said. “That’s one thing I’ll miss the most. Fans here in Canada are the same as what we have at home cheering for their club and supporting it. I was watching these fans in the playoffs last year and man it was magical. You take your game to the next level when you see that.’’

Asked about the importance of the win, he said, “Wins are wins, but some wins are different than others. Some wins can get you momentum. I thought the Jays had momentum after they won [Saturday] and took the lead [Sunday]. That team is not too far away from where they want to be, but they can wait until next year.’’

They will actually face the Red Sox again in that last weekend of the season. The Grand Finale regular season for Big Papi. By that time, he hopes the Red Sox will have wrapped up the divisional championship.

It’ll make those sunsets all the nicer.

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickcafardo.