Why Blue Jays fans should root for the White Sox down the stretch

At this point of the season it feels like an understatement to say that "every game matters," but the truth is with only 15 games left (as of Friday, Sept. 11) the Toronto Blue Jays cannot afford to have losses pile up. And while taking care of their own business is the top priority, they also need a little bit of help elsewhere.

That is why Blue Jays fans may need to sublet themselves as fans of the Chicago White Sox as well, for the next two and a half weeks.

Yes, those White Sox. The same team that seemed to torment Toronto for six games during the 2026 season. The White Sox won five of six against the Blue Jays, outscored them 29-12 and handed them some of their ugliest losses of the year. If not for some of those losses, the Jays might have been in a much more comfortable position at this stage of the game, instead they are spending September clutching and clawing their way into the postseason picture.

Now, Chicago may be one of the teams Toronto needs the most to keep those playoff hopes alive. With the Blue Jays chasing Cleveland for the final American League Wild Card spot, the White Sox holding off the Guardians in the AL Central could end up becoming a sneaky part of Toronto’s path to October.

The tiebreaker scenario could be Toronto's saving grace for 2026 postseason bid

The Blue Jays own the tiebreaker over the Guardians after winning the season series 4-2. MLB no longer uses Game 163 tiebreakers, so if Toronto and Cleveland finish with identical records after 162 games, the Blue Jays would be placed ahead of the Guardians in the Wild Card race.

That makes Cleveland’s division race with Chicago especially concerning to the Blue Jays. The Guardians entered Friday holding the final AL Wild Card position, one game ahead of Toronto, while the White Sox led the AL Central by 1.5 games. If Chicago keeps the division lead, Cleveland remains in the Wild Card pile, where the Blue Jays can still catch them. If Cleveland flips the division, the Jays’ route becomes more complicated because the Guardians would no longer be the team Toronto is directly trying to knock out.

The Blue Jays, having squandered a few chances to pick up at least a game or two in one of the easier parts of their schedule, now have somewhat of an uphill battle to finish the season. Their final stretch includes a home series against the Orioles, Tigers and Reds, with road trips to Texas and Baltimore mixed in. After the Blue Jays dropped two of three in Sacramento against the bottom feeding Athletics, none of those series can be looked at as easy wins, even if none of those teams are over .500. But if they erase their sloppy play and find a way to continue to score runs - there's a clear path to winning those games.

Cleveland’s path looks a little more difficult. They host the White Sox at home next week, while they also visit the Boston Red Sox for three games (Sept. 22-24). Their other three series are on the road against the Twins and KC, while they host the Athletics.

It will probably be tough for Blue Jays fans to cheer on the White Sox since it was in Chicago in early April when the Blue Jays' season started to fall off the tracks. The Blue Jays were swept, lost Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger to injuries during the series and even dropped a tenth-inning game after a Tyler Heineman throwing error. They entered that set at 4-2, fell to 4-5 by the end of it and did not get back over .500 until months later.

The July series in Toronto was not much kinder. The Blue Jays managed a 1-0 win in the middle game, but Chicago took the opener and the rubber match while outscoring Toronto 15-5 across the three-game set.

For a White Sox team that has already done more than enough damage to Toronto’s season, the least it can do now is make sure Cleveland stays within Toronto's reach.

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