AL WILD CARD RACE TIGHTENS AS JAYS TAKE GAME ONE VERSUS BOSTON

MLB / Baseball

Written by Gus Cousins

As teams jockey for playoff position, nothing is further from being decided than the AL Wild Card picture - six legitimate teams playing for three spots has spiralled into the chaos that we all hoped it would.

Source (Background photos): Getty Images

Prior to their series against Boston, Toronto made a couple of roster moves; RHP Zach Pop, acquired in the Anthony Bass deal, was demoted to AAA Buffalo as the team activated LHP Tim Mayza off the Injured List. The news was relatively unexpected, as Pop has had quite the season so far - a 3.38 ERA over 26 ⅔ innings between Miami and Toronto, and had turned into quite the groundball specialist out of the ‘pen. Toronto operated with no lefty reliever for quite some time, as Matt Gage hasn’t pitched with the big club since July 3rd and Taylor Saucedo was beginning his rehab. A heavy reliance on righty Adam Cimber acting as a proverbial lefty due to his splits has had mixed results recently, further raising the question as to why Gage hasn’t been recalled. Nonetheless, Toronto’s Gageless bullpen faced off against one of their former farmhands in RHP Josh Winckowski to open the series.

Ross Stripling, coming off of one of his most dominant starts of the season, continued his hot streak with six innings of one-run ball against Boston as Toronto took the series opener 9-3. An 8-run third inning propelled the Jays to keep pace with Seattle in the wild card hunt and pull ever so slightly further away from the pesky Baltimore Orioles. The win came amidst yet another rocky outing by ex-Starter-turned-Reliever Yusei Kikuchi, walking three and then drilling Rafael Devers with a fastball before being replaced by David Phelps in the 7th inning. Every Jays’ starter collected at least one hit except for Alejandro Kirk, led by George Springer with a 3 RBI night. Jose Berrios gets the ball in game two, as opposed by rookie righty Brayan Bello.

Heading into the slate of games this Wednesday, Tampa Bay sits with a half-game lead on both Toronto and Seattle for the first Wild Card at 67-55. Meanwhile, Toronto - at 66-55 - and Seattle - at 67-56 - are both two-and-a-half games up on Baltimore, and four up on Minnesota for the final spot(s). The White Sox, who continue to irk their fanbase by dropping two games in a row to Kansas City, have slipped to five games back. Boston’s playoff hopes could be dashed entirely following a series loss to Toronto, as they are a whopping seven games back entering play.

After taking three out of four from the Yankees in a four-game series, Toronto has inched closer to New York in the AL East race too. New York has struggled since the All-Star Break, no longer holding the best record in the American League and shortening, albeit marginally, their lead in the division. Currently, the Jays are eight-and-a-half back of New York for first place while the Rays - 8-2 in their last 10 - sit right back. Neither team is projected to catch the Yankees, but both have made headway amidst the Yankees’ faltering.

Barring a collapse of epic proportions, there is a very real chance that Toronto could face off against its’ division rival Rays in the Wild Card round - making home-field advantage all the more important. With the new three-team Wild Card comes to a twist; whoever has home-field advantage will play all games at their park - no flying back-and-forth. Historically, the Jays haven’t had much success playing at Tropicana Field posting a well-under .500 winning % all-time. This season is no different so far, as Toronto sits 2-3 playing in Tampa. A crucial four-game set at the Trop kicks off in September, with a total of nine games against Toronto that month. The Blue Jays end their season playing a thirteen-game stretch of AL East foes, with seven of their last nine series facing division rivals.

Should Toronto continue on their merry way and find themselves in a playoff spot, some tough decisions will have to be made with regards to postseason rostering. Cavan Biggio, for one, will be a major topic of discussion. Is Trevor Richards a viable bullpen arm come October? Mitch White? What about Kikuchi? What’s the reluctance surrounding Zach Pop and Matt Gage? As much as we all hope that some of this will sort itself out over the next forty-two games, there will come a point where uncomfortable conversations must be had - at least, we hope there is.

For now, though, all eyes are on Jose Berrios to deliver what could very possibly be the knockout blow against any bleak hopes Boston may still have for the playoffs. The first pitch is at 7:07 pm.