Here's how the Blue Jays can clinch a playoff spot this week
There won’t be any Toronto Blue Jays players partying just yet tonight.
By virtue of last night’s 2-0 snore-fest loss to the New York Yankees at the Rogers Centre and the Seattle Mariners’ 6-2 victory over the Houston Astros, the Blue Jays find themselves needing at least one more day to clinch a postseason berth.
Sitting in the second Wild Card spot, Toronto’s currently a game ahead of the Astros and a game and a half ahead of the Mariners, while they’re a game back of the Texas Rangers, who currently sit as the American League West Division leaders.
Houston and Seattle are playing each other tonight in the final matchup of a three-game set, having split each of the first two games. As things currently stand, it’s likely better for Toronto fans to be rooting for Houston to take down Seattle for the 6:40 PT/ 9:40 ET matchup, as it would push them one game closer to clinching a postseason berth.
With five games left in their season, Toronto would need three wins for a season total of 90 to clinch their playoff spot should Seattle win all of their remaining games, leaving the Mariners with 90 wins and the Astros with a max of 89. But they can also get there with any combination of three of their own wins and Mariners losses, meaning they could be celebrating by as early as late Thursday evening should the proper results go their way.
After their next two matchups tonight and tomorrow against the Yankees, Toronto hosts the Tampa Bay Rays for a season-ending set this Friday to Sunday. With the Rays currently two-and-a-half games back of the Baltimore Orioles for the AL East crown, it’s possible that matchup could have playoff-seeding implications for both teams.
Meanwhile, the Astros close out their own schedule with a three-game set in Arizona on Friday-Sunday against the Diamondbacks, while the Mariners have a four-game set kicking off this Thursday against the Rangers at home.
Toronto’s odds currently sit at 95% as per FanGraphs, so it’s hopefully only a matter of time before they’re able to celebrate this week.