At the end of his news conference Monday, Portland Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese joked that with midfielder Sebastian Blanco now having a second daughter, his life at home must be so fast that everything on the field seems slow by comparison.

It was a joke, but the best jokes have some level of truth to them.

This year has been different for Blanco.

Even for all his production in three-plus seasons with the Timbers, it’s hard to find a stretch where the 32-year-old Argentine has been as consistently dominant as he’s been in Orlando, Florida, this summer.

Blanco is the engine that has powered the Timbers at the MLS is Back tournament, where they will face the Philadelphia Union at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the semifinals.

“He’s taking it on himself to take the team to the next level,” defender Jorge Villafaña said. “We need that.”

Blanco has performed at a high level throughout the tournament, notching an assist in all five of Portland’s games.

He has two goals as well, including the winner against the LA Galaxy in the first game. He also scored the game-tying goal against NYCFC, giving Portland the momentum it needed before Diego Valeri ultimately scored the winning goal.

“The difference is that we’re actually scoring, that is the reason why I have been able to assist and, in some cases, score too,” Blanco said. “I talked a lot about how mature our team is and how firm we are offensively. These individual differences, when everybody feels comfortable the way we are.”

Blanco plays a versatile role in the attack. He’s an attacking midfielder, who can be seen roaming the middle of the field as well as setting up forwards from the wings. On both of forward Jaroslaw Niezgoda’s goals, a Blanco pass from out wide served as the assist.

Against FC Cincinnati a week ago, Blanco made a run along the end line toward the middle of the box and kept his head up to find Niezgoda in the middle. It was a similar type of run that led to Blanco’s goal against the Galaxy, with Blanco heading down the ball to himself and ultimately scoring from a tight angle.

Blanco also has used long-range passes, like threading the ball through the middle of four Houston Dynamo defenders from midfield to forward Jeremy Ebobisse at the top of the 18-yard box, which led to a goal. Against LAFC, Blanco sent a long, curling pass to Niezgoda to put the Polish striker in wide open space to shoot.

On Monday, multiple reporters asked about Blanco taking over games to an extent he hasn’t before with Portland. Blanco consistently has been the player who has set up the Timbers’ attack, and his passes that have turned into assists often have put teammates in prime position for easy finishes.

When Savarese first took over as Timbers coach in 2017, Blanco was one of the first players who impressed him. The talent was evident immediately.

But Blanco is 32 now. At this point in his career, he has so much experience that all the cliché labels of a veteran player apply to him. And throughout this tournament, Savarese has seen Blanco’s talent and leadership from practice manifest itself in games like never before.

“If you see the things that he does in practice, it is a player of a different level,” Savarese said. “I think what I see this year, a little bit different is that he’s a lot more calm. I think there is a higher level of maturity in his game that he’s been able to bring this year that is allowing him to be able to even bring a different level up or show what he shows every day in practice more constant in every game.”

Blanco sees the same in himself. That’s what has led to such success for him, and in turn, the team. Without Blanco, the attack that has been so crucial for Portland in this tournament might not have produced in the same fashion.

“Maybe now I feel more mature,” Blanco said. “I feel better, and I’m trying to maximize this. I’m enjoying this as a matter of fact. … Perhaps now I feel a little bit more relaxed or calm because it’s a shorter tournament. It’s a game-by-game thing.”