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The Blue Jays now hold important tiebreakers over these AL opponents
Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The Blue Jays now hold important tiebreakers over these AL opponents

Originally posted on Bluejaysnation  |  By Ian Hunter  |  Last updated Jul 28, 2025 12:00 PM ET

We are witnessing one of the most impressive stretches of baseball in Blue Jays franchise history. At 19-5 in their last 24 games, the Blue Jays are playing one of their best 24-game spans ever. It’s only bested by a 20-4 run from August 2015, another 20-4 run from early 2014, and a 20-4 stretch from August and September 1989.

Not only did the Blue Jays close an 8-game gap between them and the Yankees, but Toronto slingshot 5.5 games past the Bronx Bombers in the standings. The Blue Jays went from being the 23rd-best team in baseball on May 7 to being the best team in baseball. It still feels surreal to say that.

As the Blue Jays continue to climb up the rankings of the best starts in Blue Jays history, they also took care of some important business against some American League opponents over the last week. While Toronto padded its lead atop the American League East, the Jays secured a tiebreaker against the Yankees.

Tiebreaker over the Yankees

The Blue Jays own a 7-3 season lead over the Yankees, and even if the Jays get swept during their final series in the Bronx later in September, it won’t matter for tiebreaker purposes. Think of it as an extra half-game lead over the Yankees, so the Blue Jays currently have a six-game division lead over the Yankees instead of 5.5 games.

This may prove useful for the Blue Jays down the road in Wild Card tiebreaker scenarios, division leader tiebreaker scenarios and overall American League tiebreaker scenarios. Though for the Yankees, those Wild Card and AL East title tiebreakers are very much in play.

Tiebreaker over the Tigers

Although the Blue Jays didn’t sweep the Detroit Tigers in their four-game set, by the Blue Jays taking three out of four games in the Motor City, the Blue Jays also hold the upper hand against the Tigers as well with another tiebreaker in Toronto’s back pocket.

This tiebreaker for the Blue Jays could prove to be the most useful, as they’ll continue to battle the Tigers for the top two overall records in the American League, and those teams receive byes into the ALDS. In MLB’s new playoff format, the weakest division winner still has to play the lowest-seeded Wild Card team, so the Blue Jays want to avoid that at all costs by finishing first or second in the AL.

Thanks to what transpired over the weekend, if the Blue Jays and Tigers tie for the second-best record in the AL at the end of the season, the advantage goes to the Blue Jays and they receive the bye, while the Tigers head to the Wild Card series.

Tiebreaker over the Red Sox

The Blue Jays have only one series left against the Boston Red Sox, believe it or not. Toronto leads the season series 7-3, and with three games left to play, the best the Red Sox can hope for is to sweep that three-game set in Toronto at the end of September, but they’ll still lose the season series 7-6.

So the Blue Jays also hold a tiebreaker over the Red Sox in any potential Wild Card or division race, too.

Tiebreaker over the Mariners

Didn’t it feel like the Blue Jays started gaining momentum once they swept the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park back in early May? The M’s were one of the hottest teams in baseball at that juncture, but the Blue Jays took them out in their yard and, in doing so, also won the season series 4-2.

The Mariners aren’t as magma-hot as the Blue Jays, but with a 17-13 record in their last 30 games, Seattle is climbing up the standings. Regardless, if they catch the Blue Jays and both tie for a Wild Card or overall American League record spot, the Blue Jays hold the trump card.

Still to be decided: Tiebreakers over the Astros, Rangers, Rays, Guardians and Royals

Next to securing that tiebreaker over the Tigers this past weekend, this might be the second-most important head-to-head record to win, which is against the Houston Astros. The Blue Jays trail the season series 0-3 with three games left to play against the Astros at Rogers Centre, September 9 to 11.

The best the Blue Jays can do is sweep that September series and make it a 3-3 head-to-head record. Then the intradivision record would be a potential second tiebreaker between the Blue Jays in Astros. Toronto is 18-10 against the AL East, with Houston 16-16 versus the AL West.

There is less of a chance of the Blue Jays needing tiebreakers over the Rangers, Rays, Guardians and Royals, but it’s better to win these season series just in case. The Blue Jays lead their season series over the Rangers 2-1 with three games to play at Rogers Centre, August 15 to 17. Toronto needs to win two of three to get the tiebreaker over the Rangers.

The Blue Jays have the biggest hill to climb against the Tampa Bay Rays, trailing 1-5 in the season series. But with seven games left to play between these two teams in September alone, the Blue Jays need to win all seven of those to secure a tiebreaker over the Rays.

Toronto has yet to play any games against Kansas City this season, with three coming at the Rogers Centre later this week. Then they meet for three more games in KC later in September, so it’s anyone’s guess at this point.

Because of additional levels of tiebreakers, the Blue Jays have yet to find out whether they own a tiebreaker over the Cleveland Guardians as well. They’re tied in the season series 4-4, so the next tiebreaker goes to the intradivision record. The Blue Jays are 18-14 against the AL East, while the Guardians are 18-10 against the AL Central.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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