The Toronto Blue Jays took care of business in the AL East this season

The Toronto Blue Jays have officially clinched a playoff spot, but they have not locked up the top spot in the AL East just yet. However, they have had the upper hand over all of their division rivals, except for the Tampa Bay Rays. Aside from the Rays, the Blue Jays have won every season series in the AL East.

The Blue Jays will finish the regular season with two division series: first against the Boston Red Sox, followed by the Tampa Bay Rays. The Blue Jays lead this season's head-to-head series 7-3 against the Red Sox. Neither team has been at its best over the last week. The Red Sox are 5-5 in their last ten.

It was only two weeks ago that the Red Sox and Yankees were tied for second in the AL East, three games back of the Blue Jays. However, the Red Sox now sit in third, three games back of the Yankees and five back of the Blue Jays.

The Toronto Blue Jays took care of business in the AL East this season

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, have also struggled recently. Their playoff-clinching 8-5 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday snapped a four-game losing streak. Toronto's offence struggled, with just three runs and 15 hits during the four-game slide.

However, Sunday's win was the Blue Jays' 13th straight game without a day off. The Blue Jays will return to Toronto for their final six games of the regular season where they have the second-best home record in MLB (50-25), behind the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Blue Jays finish the regular season against the only AL East team they've struggled against this season. Tampa Bay leads the season series 7-3 after splitting last week's four-game series. The Rays have historically been a thorn in the Blue Jays' side. In 36 meetings over the previous three seasons, the Rays lead head-to-head 23-13. Last week's series was also the first time since 2023 that the Blue Jays have won consecutive games against the Rays.

The most important head-to-head win for the Blue Jays this season is against the New York Yankees. The Blue Jays won the season series 8-5 against the Yankees. That could be crucial as New York trails the Blue Jays by two games in both the division standings and the American League standings.

Heading into the final week of the regular season, the magic number for the Blue Jays to clinch the AL East title is four. If the Blue Jays win and the Yankees lose a combined four games, the Blue Jays win the division.

However, the Blue Jays have a more difficult schedule to end the season. The Yankees finish the regular season with series against the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles. The White Sox have the worst record in the American League (58-98), while the Orioles sit last in the AL East, three games back of the fourth-place Rays.

The Blue Jays won their final series against the Orioles with a three-game sweep to take the season series 7-6. The Blue Jays went into that series trailing 6-5 in the head-to-head, but managed to outscore Baltimore 22-7 to win the head-to-head.

Except for the Rays, Toronto has gotten the better of each of its division rivals in 2025. That has played a big role in the Blue Jays holding on to the lead of the AL East since they took over the top spot at the beginning of July.

Against the Yankees, the head-to-head could be key to securing the top spot in the division and the American League. However, the Blue Jays will have to continue their winning ways against AL East teams, as they finish their season with back-to-back series against division rivals.