American League East race still runs through Toronto
Photo credit: https://www.mlb.com/news/al-east-catcher-outlook-2021
The Toronto Blue Jays lead over the New York Yankees is down to two games after they dropped Sunday's finale in the Bronx, 4-3.
The comfortable lead the Blue Jays (82-61) enjoyed through parts of July and August, often reaching five or six games, has slowly eroded, and while they still hold the tiebreaker advantage over the Yankees (80-63), the powerhouse division looks like it's going to be a photo finish.
Toronto's lead has slipped away in large part because of the Jays' bullpen struggles.
The Jays rotation has had more and more pressure on it. It has definitely been embraced by a rotation mostly stacked with veterans. It's a downright throwback attitude.
«The reality is that we have to go 100 pitches, especially this last month,» Kevin Gausman said. «We've taxed our bullpen enough. Now, we just need to get to that 100-pitch mark consistently. With the guys that we have, we can do that. We feel pretty confident that we can give one, maybe two [relievers] the night off each night.»
The Toronto Blue Jays control their destiny by remaining consistent down the stretch
The Boston Red Sox (79-65) are looming, too, with the AL East set to send three teams to the postseason.
The Blue Jays still control their own destiny, but when the division lead slips from six games down to two, one bad series can flip the entire postseason picture.
This is the point where even veteran players and manager John Schneider, who have long leaned on the mantra that each series is the same, have to acknowledge that these games mean something more.
«I think I'd be lying if I said no, that it's not different,» Schneider said to open the series. «It's September. The goal is to win every series. If we happen to lose today, we play tomorrow and the goal will be the same. As the runway gets smaller, yes, sure, you can look at things a little more closely. You're still trying to win a series and play a good game tonight, tomorrow and Sunday.
This isn't just about the division, either; it's about bypassing the Wild Card Round altogether.
Right now, the Blue Jays hold one of the top two spots in the AL along with the Detroit Tigers (82-62), which would catapult them directly to the AL Division Series, a best-of-five instead of a best-of-three.
Besides, the Wild Card hasn't been kind to this organization.
In 2020, '22 and '23, the Blue Jays went 0-2 in that round and were quickly eliminated, each more painful than the last. It's time to stay in the driver's seat.
The MLB schedule makers have laid out the perfect script, too.
Waiting for the Blue Jays back in Toronto on Tuesday will be the Astros, who currently have the third-best record among the AL division leaders and are trying to jump right to the ALDS.
Source: MLB.com
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 8 | 131 ANSWERS American League East race still runs through Toronto Who do you think will come out on top in the American League East? | ||
| Toronto Blue Jays | 109 | 83.2 % |
| New York Yankees | 19 | 14.5 % |
| Boston Red Sox | 3 | 2.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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