Blue Jays Set Sights on Zeroing Out Magic Number to Win AL East Title

First, there is the AL East. The race remains close. The Blue Jays only have a two-game lead on the New York Yankees (88-68) who also have six games remaining. Due to that, the Blue Jays’ magic number to win the division is four. That’s any combination of Blue Jays wins and Yankees losses.

Because Toronto has the lead it has some wiggle room. The Blue Jays don’t have to win every game, but they must win enough games to stay ahead of New York. For instance, if Toronto goes 3-3 down the stretch the Yankees would have to go 5-1 to tie for the division. But even that would not be enough because Toronto has the tiebreaker over New York. If Toronto goes 3-3, New York must go undefeated (6-0) to win the division.

That’s a steep hill for the Yankees to climb.

Now, there’s the matter of the No. 1 overall seed. Toronto has a three-game lead over the Seattle Mariners (87-69), who vaulted into the No. 2 seed last weekend with a sweep of the Houston Astros. The Detroit Tigers (85-71) are now five games behind and practically out of the hunt for the No. 1 seed.

Toronto has a magic number to clinch that seed, which is four. Again, it’s a combination of Blue Jays wins and Mariners losses. As with the Yankees, the Blue Jays have wiggle room. If Toronto goes 3-3 then Seattle must go undefeated down the stretch to tie for the No. 1 seed. As with New York, that won’t help Seattle. The Blue Jays have the tiebreaker in that scenario. Even a perfect week by the Mariners won’t cut it, unless Toronto is under .500 for the week.

It all sets up favorably for the Blue Jays entering Tuesday’s series opener with Boston. Toronto has a chance to bring this home, at home, in front of fans that have been clamoring for a World Series contender for a decade.

The Blue Jays are seeking to win their first division title since 2015. Since that division title they've been to the postseason four other times, but always as a wild card team. The Blue Jays reached the ALCS again in 2016 but fell to Cleveland.

Toronto has a team good enough to duplicate what their 1992 and 1993 teams did, which was win the World Series. That 1993 season was the last time the Blue Jays played in the Fall Classic.

Toronto Blue Jays Magic Number Watch

Magic Number to Clinch AL East: 4 (including tiebreaker over Yankees)

Toronto Blue Jays Games Remaining: 6

Toronto Blue Jays Remaining Schedule: Sept. 23-25 vs. Boston; Sept. 26-28, vs. Tampa Bay.

AL East Division Race (after Sept. 22)

Toronto Blue Jays: 90-66 (lead division)

New York Yankees: 88-68 (2.0 games behind)

New York Yankees Remaining Schedule (6 games): Sept. 23-25 vs. Chicago White Sox; Sept. 26-28, vs. Baltimore.