That’s why, even after clinching a postseason berth Thursday, Toronto can’t take its foot off the gas.
#Sox magic number series
The less the Blue Jays win, the more help they’ll need to ensure a wild card series is played at Rogers Centre. What if Toronto goes 2-4? Then the Mariners need to lose at least four of their final seven, while the Rays lose three of their final six. But with a playing-out-the-string Red Sox side coming to town this weekend, and a series with the likely-to-be-eliminated-by-then Orioles on tap next week, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.īut what if the Blue Jays go 3-3 over that stretch? Then they need three Mariners losses and two by the Rays to clinch home field advantage. Easier said than done, particularly considering the mental miscues and unforced errors that have sabotaged the club’s efforts of late. The Blue Jays can force this scenario without any help from elsewhere across the league by simply winning their final six games.
Here’s a look at each of Toronto’s potential outcomes at the end of these next six games.īlue Jays finish first, host wild card series vs.
All scenarios are still on the table for now. But it would take only a couple losses this weekend, and a couple wins by the Rays, Mariners, or both, to change that. Ultimately, Toronto’s fate is in its hands. And with the Blue Jays, Mariners, and Rays all having finished their season series against one another, we know who holds the hammer in the various scenarios: Which would be bad news for the Blue Jays, who don’t hold the edge in any tiebreaker scenarios.Īt the end of the regular season, any two-team ties will be decided by head-to-head record, while a three-team tie would come down to which club has the best combined winning percentage against the other two teams. If the Blue Jays can’t take care of business against the Red Sox at Rogers Centre this weekend, and the Orioles at Camden Yards next week, the Rays, Mariners, or both could close their respective gaps. Three Blue Jays wins combined with at least two losses by the Rays and three losses by the Mariners over that span would do it.īut it’s unlikely to be that easy. That means the earliest the Blue Jays could secure home field advantage is Sunday. Toronto’s magic number to clinch the first wild card spot is six with the Mariners and five with the Rays. Of course, there are still games to be played - six each for the Blue Jays and Rays, seven for the Mariners. So, if the regular season ended Friday morning, the Blue Jays would host the Mariners, with the winner continuing to Houston, while the Guardians would welcome the Rays, competing to earn a spot in a divisional series beginning in the Bronx. The winner of the series between the top two wild card teams will go on to play the Houston Astros in the divisional round the winner of the series in Cleveland will get the New York Yankees. The third-place club travels to Cleveland to be the visitor in all three games of the other set against the AL Central-champion Guardians. As a refresher - the first-place wild card finisher hosts all three games of one wild card series against the second-place finisher.
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