Red Sox pose threat to Blue Jays in AL East standings as winning streak grows

The shift in the AL East 

The Blue Jays lost the Seattle Mariners series, and while they did win the San Francisco Giants series while hoping to gain momentum, they then lost the series against the San Diego Padres. 

The Red Sox have outperformed them in July and swept three series against the Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox and New York Mets. They have also won 14 of their last 16 games. 

The Blue Jays had the chance to win or even sweep the Padres series following back-to-back games losing by one run. They gained momentum in both games with late home runs from Ernie Clement in the third game and from Vladimir Guerrero Jr in the second game. But then found themselves in the loss column in the next inning and weren't able to come back. They have now fallen to 45-51 on the season, and the Red Sox are only two games below .500 (46-48).

Both teams came into this season with high expectations, but early-season struggles and injuries weighed them down. The Red Sox's comeback, though, has weighed on the Blue Jays' early July slump.  

The Blue Jays' end-of-June troubles carried forward into July with the starting rotation continuing to be a red flag minus Dylan Cease, who has been the Blue Jays' most consistent starter. Conversely, the Red Sox have been one of the hottest teams in baseball, and their starting pitching has been dominant with Payton Tolle, Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray, while also gaining an offensive spark from Anthony Seigler.