Blue Jays poised for an upset over Tampa Bay

Don’t bet against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round of the postseason and here’s why.

Yes, the Blue Jays traditionally struggle versus the Rays and yes, they are headed into the Wild-Card round as the eighth seed, however, this series is by no means a foregone conclusion for Tampa.

The Blue Jays are a legitimate threat to win the best of three series and their recent track record and confidence heading into the postseason may give them the leg up on their opponent.

The teams played one another ten times this season with the Rays winning six of the games. Regardless of only winning four times, Toronto had a better run differential scoring four more runs in their head to head meetings.

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Coupled with the run differential, four of the Jays six losses were only by one run with two of them coming via the walk-off fashion. All four of the losses were winnable games that could have gone either way.

They will undoubtedly face tough starting pitching in Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow but Hyun Jin Ryu could conceivably match Snell pitch for pitch in Game One. Toronto has already beaten Snell once this season albeit Aaron Loup took the loss in the contest. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. also took Snell yard once this season.

Slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. seems to be hitting his stride at the right time and could carry an offence on his back for a week or two when he is firing on all cylinders. Vladdy is hitting .320 over the past two weeks and is 10 for 26 over the past week.

The emergence of Alejandro Kirk and the continued efforts of Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette, and Gurriel give the Blue Jays the offensive advantage.

Nate Pearson was also just activated from the injured reserve and has the ability to be an x-factor coming out of the bullpen much like Aaron Sanchez was for the Blue Jays back in 2015. If reliever Jordan Romano can also make his way back in time, the bullpen could be well-positioned for a deep playoff run.

The kids are upbeat and unfazed by any opponent especially their division rival, don’t be surprised when they upset the Rays.