Blue Jays dealt favorable opponent as 2025 MLB Playoff Bracket revealed

After a grueling 162 game regular season that went down to the wire, the Toronto Blue Jays earned themselves a division title and got rewarded with a five day layoff before they begin their postseason run. As champions of the AL East and the owners of the American Leagues best record, the Blue Jays have to wait for someone to win the Wild Card series before they know who they will be playing in the American League Division Series.

It's something this team hasn't experienced before. While this iteration of the expanded playoff format is still relatively knew, Toronto has never had a first-round bye. Although technically, their last division championship in 2015 came with the caveat that they did not have to win a one-and-done Wild Card game. Regardless, in every postseason since then, the Blue Jays have had to get through either a Wild Card game themselves (in 2016) or play in the Wild Card series (2020, 2022, 2023).

They came up short in those latter three attempts and so a chance to skip right by the dreaded best-two-out-of-three format is welcomed news for many on the current roster who have bad memories of a 2022 late game collapse and a 2023 questionable managerial decision. They can erase those memories with a good showing in the ALDS and regardless of who comes through their side of the bracket, Toronto should be going into the series feeling optimistically confident.

Blue Jays dealt favorable opponent as 2025 MLB Playoff Bracket revealed

The Blue Jays will take on either the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees - two of their divisional foes whom Toronto outlasted to claim the top prize of the AL East. They just also happen to be two opponents who Toronto faired well against over the course of the 2025 season, going 8-5 against both teams.

How they measure against Boston

Despite winning eight of the 13 games against Boston, the Blue Jays didn't hit very well against them. They produced a slash line of just .224/.306/337 with just 12 home runs and 53 run scored. However, in six of the eight wins, the Blue Jays scored at least five runs. A majority of that suppression was thanks to two of the top starters on the Red Sox; Garrett Crochet, and Lucas Giolito who started a combined six of the 13 games against Toronto.

Crochet held Blue Jays hitters to a .164 batting average, with 17 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched in three starts. Giolito allowed just four earned runs in 17.2 innings, holding Blue Jays hitters to a .273 OBP-against.

However, Toronto's pitching staff was just as effective against the Red Sox, holding them to a .242/.307/.394 slash line, racking up 115 strikeouts in 119.2 innings pitched against them with 51 earned runs allowed with a 1.203 WHIP. The Red Sox only managed to score five runs or more against the Blue Jays four times and two of those games ended up being blowouts with 10-2 and 15-1 victories.

The Blue Jays split their games at home against the Red Sox with a 3-3 record, but went 5-2 at Fenway Park. Since, Toronto is the higher seed, they will get to host the first two games of the series, as well as Game Five if necessary.

How they measure against the Yankees

If it wasn't for a four-game sweep of the Yankees at Rogers Centre over the Canada Day long weekend, the Blue Jays would likely be playing in the Wild Card round as Toronto and New York finished with identical records in the standings. As mentioned, the Blue Jays went 8-5 against New York during the regular season and half of those wins came during that four-game sweep.

There were a lot of tight contests played between the two clubs, with eight of the 13 games being decided by three runs or less. The Blue Jays hit better against the Yankees than they did against the Red Sox, with a .263/.347/.423 slash line and a .291 BABIP with 13 home runs. However, they did most of that damage at home, as the Yankees held them to 18 runs over six games at Yankee Stadium - averaging just three runs per game in the Bronx.

Overall though, Addison Barger, Valdimir Guerrero Jr., and George Springer enjoyed facing the Yankees this year. Barger slashed .378/.425/.649 with two home runs in eight games. Guerrero played in all 13 head-to-head matchups and hit two home runs, drew nine walks, and had an OBP of .439. Springer went deep four times against the Yankees, had an OPS of 1.116 and drove in 12 runs.

On the pitching side Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer and Kevin Gausman combined to make 11 of the 13 starts against the Yankees and all three of them were very effective. Bassitt held them to a .217 BAA, while Max Scherzer's .204 and Kevin Gausman .202 BAA's were even better. But Bassitt did allow six home runs, while Scherzer gave up for and Gausman gave up two within those starts.

The advantage is, the Blue Jays get those five days to recharge their batteries and game plan for every type of scenario while the Red Sox and the Yankees battle over the right to face the Blue Jays in the best-of-five series in which the Blue Jays have home field advantage. The Blue Jays at 54-27 had the best home record in the American League.