No better chance than now for the Blue Jays to shrink their magic number

There are 19 games remaining on the schedule for the Toronto Blue Jays and their magic number to win the AL East is down to 18, while the magic number just to clinch a spot in the playoffs is sitting at 11. Barring an absolute chaotic and historic collapse, this team is playoff bound. They enter a crucial section of the schedule with a two-game lead in the AL East division while sporting one of the top two records in the American League.

This week presents the Blue Jays with the best chance to not only build up their lead in both the division and for a first-round bye, but to also shrink that magic number. Four of the top teams in the league are squaring off in huge head-to-head series beginning Tuesday.

No better chance than now for the Blue Jays to shrink their magic number

While Toronto (82-61) take on the Astros (78-66) at home, the Yankees (80-63) host the Detroit Tigers (82-62) for a three-game series as well. It will really come down to a 'pick your poison' type of scoreboard watching for Blue Jays fans. If they can take care of business on their own turf against the Astros then it really shouldn't matter who wins between the Yankees and the Tigers.

A loss by either the Yankees or the Tigers will increase Toronto's chances of just getting to the playoffs. A loss by Detroit means the Blue Jays close in on having the best record overall in the American League, while a loss by the Yankees increases the Blue Jays chances of winning the division. Toronto also holds the tie-breaker over both of those teams, so there's the extra incentive to both of those clubs that they need to play better than Toronto down the stretch to avoid that scenario.

Meantime, the Astros are also still in the hunt for the top spot in the AL and they have a 3-0 season series lead over Toronto. These games against the Astros are as crucial as anything Toronto has faced this season.

Following this series, the Yankees play the Red Sox (80-65) in Boston for three games starting on Friday, while the Blue Jays take on the Baltimore Orioles who are at the very bottom of the AL East. The Yankees are just 2-8 against Boston this year, but the Blue Jays are just 4-6 against Baltimore. What does work in Toronto's favour here though is that the Red Sox are still very much alive as playoff contenders on all fronts. Those games against the Yankees could significantly shakeup the standings going into the final two weeks of the season.

But that doesn't mean the Blue Jays can take anything lightly. Yes they have the second best home record in the AL going into these games (45-24), but the Orioles took two of the four games from Toronto at Rogers Centre to begin the season and they will be looking to play spoiler against their division rivals. The Blue Jays have gone 3-3 over the past three weeks and if they can maintain playing .500 ball this week that could be enough to keep that separation between themselves and the teams chasing them.

Although, if the Blue Jays were ever going to break out of that .500 win-percentage, now would be the perfect time so as not to leave anything up to chance. They are in the drivers seat, it's time for them to push on the gas pedal.