Toronto Blue Jays clinch first place and here's who they might face in the playoffs
For the first time in 10 years, the Toronto Blue Jays have finished on top of the AL East Division.
It took four straight wins to end the regular season, but the Blue Jays successfully fended off the surging New York Yankees.
Alejandro Kirk hit two home runs, including a first-inning grand slam, to help put Toronto ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays before the floodgates opened late in the regular season finale at Rogers Centre on Sunday. They won 13-4, to secure the division title.
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It was a nerve-filled final week of the season, as the Yankees closed with eight straight wins.
After losing six of seven games on Wednesday, Blue Jays manager John Schneider dropped an incredible line, saying the sky wasn’t falling.
He called back to that before Sunday’s champagne celebration.
“You guys are unbelievable. You’re selfless. I say it all the time,” Schneider told his players before the champagne celebration.
“I said the sky’s not f*cking falling, and guess what? It f*cking didn’t.”
What a day for Alejandro Kirk (Dan Hamilton/Imagn Images)
Winning the AL East comes with a significant reward, as the Blue Jays will enter the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the American League. That gives them a bye straight to the ALDS, which is a place they haven’t appeared since 2016.
This is just the seventh division title in Blue Jays franchise history.
With 94 wins, Toronto has put together its most successful regular season since 1993, and the fifth-best record (94-68) in franchise history.
Who will the Blue Jays play in the postseason?
The ALDS doesn’t begin until Saturday, giving everyone some much-needed rest. The team is hopeful it can buy enough time for Bo Bichette, who hasn’t played since Sept. 6 due to a knee sprain.
The road to the World Series (MLB.com)
The road to the World Series will go through New York or Boston, as the Blue Jays will face the winner of the Yankees-Red Sox series in the ALDS. The other side of the American League postseason bracket features the Seattle Mariners (2), Cleveland Guardians (3), and Detroit Tigers (6).
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