Toronto Blue Jays Clinch AL East With Win Over Tampa Bay Rays

The Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees have been in a tight race for the AL East title, and it came down to the final game of the regular season. New York has been firing on all cylinders, gaining over 5 games on Toronto within the past week. Heading into the weekend, the Blue Jays needed to win out to win the division. If they lost and the Yankees won out, New York would take the division crown.

Blue Jays Got It Done

Heading into a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays, there was no room for error. In Game 1, Toronto got out to an early lead on an RBI single from Nathan Lukes, but the Rays quickly answered back. Back-to-back home runs by Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda put Tampa ahead, 2-1. Ernie Clement tied the game at 2 with an RBI single, and Shane Bieber shut the Rays’ offense down. In the bottom of the 5th, Lukes blew the game open with a two-run home run, and Toronto’s bullpen shut it down.

In Game 2, the Blue Jays dominated. They went after Joe Boyle early in this game, putting up three runs in the second inning. Trey Yesavage shut Tampa down, going five innings, allowing 5 hits and 0 runs. From there, the Blue Jays were on cruise control, adding on two more runs on a single by Lukes and a solo homer by Alejandro Kirk in the 7th inning. Seranthony Domginuez slammed the door, leading them to a 5-1 win.

On Sunday, it was do or die for the Blue Jays, and they could clinch the division with a win. Jonathan Aranda put the Rays ahead early with an RBI single, but Ian Seymour quickly gave it up. He struggled early on with his command, and Alejandro Kirk made him pay, hitting a grand slam to put Toronto up 5-1. Tampa made the game close in the third inning, but the Blue Jays went on to absolutely crush them.

Playoff Picture

The Blue Jays secured their first-round bye today, along with the best record in the American League. They will play the winner of the Red Sox/Yankees Wild Card Series, and the first game of the American League Divisional Series begins on Saturday. This will be the first time Toronto has won the division along with a bye in the first round since 2015.

It will be interesting to see if they can maintain their momentum with multiple days off, but the potential return of Bo Bichette should be a significant boost.