AL Wild Card Update: Blue Jays get perfect opportunity to gain ground against weakened A’s

The Toronto Blue Jays woke up Sunday (Aug. 6) with a chance to finish off a sweep in Kansas City, keep their winning streak alive and remain on the right side of the American League Wild Card picture. By the end of the afternoon, they were back at .500 and once again staring up at the Cleveland Guardians.

That has been the story of the Blue Jays’ season: every two steps forward seems to come with another step back and in this incredibly surprising playoff push the Blue Jays are running out of time for any kind of major setback. Toronto still took two of three from the Royals, and briefly climbed back over .500 for the first time since early April. They have also won seven of their last 10 games. But still, Sunday’s 6-1 loss dropped the Blue Jays to 72-72, one game behind Cleveland for the third and final AL Wild Card spot as they open the third last week of the regular season schedule.

The good news is that the next opportunity looks about as favourable as Toronto could reasonably ask for in September. The Blue Jays open a three-game road series against the Athletics on Monday night (Aug. 7), and while no series can be treated as automatic by a team hovering around .500, this is the kind of matchup where they need to seriously think about a sweep, something they did at the beginning of the year when they took all three against the A's at home. Sure, it's the "one game at a time" approach they'll emote on the outside, but on the inside, they have to be looking at these three games are a golden opportunity.

The Athletics enter the series at 57-87 with one of the worst run differentials in the American League, and their lineup is missing several of the names that would normally make them more dangerous. Nick Kurtz is on the 60-day injured list with a right thumb strain and is out for the season. Tyler Soderstrom is also on the 60-day IL after undergoing season-ending surgery for a left hip issue, while Shea Langeliers is on the 10-day IL with a torn right meniscus and is only working toward a possible late-season return.

Brent Rooker and Jacob Wilson are also done for the season and the team has gone 12-22 since the beginning of August, the worst record in the American League.

It also helps that Toronto is lined up to start the series with its two best current rotation options. Dylan Cease gets the ball Monday, and he has been the stabilizer in a season where the rest of the rotation has been ravaged by injuries. Throw in some trades and demotions and the Blue Jays have relied on more bullpen days than they ever thought they would need after spending all offseason looking for rotation upgrades.

José Soriano is expected to follow. He's thrown 33 innings over six starts since the Blue Jays picked him up in a trade with the LA Angels at the deadline. In that span he's posted a respectable 4.36 ERA and 3.88 FIP and does enough to limit the damage every time he's on the mound. With Jameson Taillon back on the injured list Cease and Soriano have become even more important to Toronto’s push.

Blue Jays series against the Athletics could make or break their Wild Card chances

Winning two of three would be acceptable in most circumstances, especially on the road in September. But given where the Athletics are, who they are missing and how little margin the Blue Jays have left, Toronto should be aiming higher, especially since they don't control the Wild Card race right now.

They still need the Guardians to stumble, and the Rangers, Orioles and Twins remain close enough to keep the standings uncomfortable. What Toronto can control is whether it takes advantage of a weakened opponent.

What does work in their favour is that the Guardians open a three-game series in Baltimore on Monday. Minnesota is in Detroit for three while the Rangers visit Seattle for a three-game set starting Tuesday. That's all five teams behind the Blue Jays facing each other, while the team ahead of them, is also battling a team in the Orioles whose playoff hopes are hanging by a thread.

That means if the Blue Jays just take care of their own business, good things should be happening in the standings around them.

After missing a chance to sweep the Royals, the Blue Jays cannot afford to take a step back against the Athletics. They are back at .500, and still chasing the final playoff spot, but by sending their ace to the mound to open the series they are in a great position to make some serious September noise.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow