Why Blue Jays' playoff push could stretch to final game of season
The 2023 Toronto Blue Jays have had one of the most memorable seasons in franchise history this year.
But that’s not necessarily a good thing.
With expectations to possibly win the team’s first World Series since 1993, the franchise still has not clinched a playoff spot heading into their final four games of the season.
They’re a game and a half up on the Seattle Mariners, but it’s a bit of a misleading stat due to the Mariners holding the tiebreaker over Toronto due to their stronger divisional record after splitting the season series 3-3.
In their first two games against the now-eliminated New York Yankees, the Jays went 0-2 while being outscored 8-0. And while they could’ve clinched a playoff berth as soon as Wednesday heading into the homestand, the earliest they can do so is now Friday.
But that’s in a perfect world, and even at their best, these Blue Jays haven’t quite been perfect.
Toronto still needs a combination of three of their own wins and Mariners losses to clinch a playoff spot, with Seattle and Texas starting off a four-game set of their own this evening.
Toronto holds the tiebreaker over Houston due to winning the season series 4-3 over the Astros but doesn’t hold it over either Texas or Seattle, as previously mentioned.
The cleanest scenario as the standings are currently constructed is for Seattle to lose tonight against the Rangers, with the Jays winning tonight against the Yankees and tomorrow’s series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays.
That’d give Toronto a chance to celebrate in front of their home fans and give the team a chance to finally focus on a bit of rest for their key pieces ahead of the playoff run.
But what if they don’t do it by tomorrow?
Mathematically, Toronto can’t be eliminated from the playoff race until Saturday, which would require them to lose each of their next three games, with Seattle winning the next three. That’s an absolute worst-case scenario, and even in a season where the sky seems to be falling every time the Jays lose, it’s still relatively unlikely in the grand scheme of things.
But things could get a little messy if they haven’t already. At this rate, it’s not inconceivable the playoff push stretches to the final day of the season on Sunday, where all 15 games across the league start within 15 minutes of each other. Buckle up.
In the meantime, Toronto takes on the Yankees tonight at 4:07 pm PT/7:07 pm ET, while the Rangers and Mariners start at 6:40 pm PT/9:40 pm ET. Here’s to another night of out-of-town scoreboard-watching.
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